KOTTAYAM: For the second time in three years Mohan C Chathurachira, a paddy farmer in Arppookkara grama panchayat, has lost his half-grown paddy crop to flood. Mohan’s family has been into paddy cultivation for several decades, but he cannot remember such continuous setbacks for the agriculture sector for three years in a row. “Paddy cultivation in our 257-acre Mattam Vilanguchira padasekharam (group farming fields) has been completely destroyed, 65 days after planting. If the trend continues, farmers will be forced to give up ‘varsha’ cultivation (farming during monsoon season),” said Mohan.
Many farmers in the district have lost their cultivation for three consecutive years. According to Agriculture Department officials, paddy cultivation in around 3,500 hectares — of the total 6,000 ha in the district — has been damaged due to floods this time. The loss is expected to go up in the coming days as floodwater is yet to recede from a large portion of the Upper Kuttanad region.
Sources said, entire cultivation in Kallara, Thalayazham and Thiruvarpp grama panchayat has been completely destroyed while farming in other panchayats like Arppookkara, Aymanam, Kumarakom in Ettumanoor block and Vechoor and Edayazham in Vaikom block has been significantly damaged.“The cultivation during ‘varsha’ season has become a major challenge for farmers as the floods have been adversely affecting them.
While ‘petti and para’ (a traditional system to drain out water from polders) has been washed off from many polders, motors were damaged in flood. Farmers will also have to bear additional expense for re-cultivation after floodwater recedes,” said Muhammed Sherif, an engineer with the Agriculture Department. From climate change to unscientific development work and construction activities in the water-rich region, farmers and experts cited various reasons for back-to-back floods in the district, especially in Upper Kuttanad region.
“It is high time major steps, including deepening of the merging places of rivers with Vembanadu lake and reining in unscientific construction activities, are initiated,” said Shajimon Vattappallil, secretary, Malarikkal Tourism Society. According to John Richard Thomas, a research scholar at the School of Environmental Science, MG University, there has been a major change in weather conditions for the
past few years.
Rain to subside in coming days, says MEt Department
T’Puram: The Met Department has forecast decreased rainfall in the state in the coming days and normal rainfall next week. Though another low pressure has been forecast on August 13, it will not have a direct impact on the weather in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday. However, the Met Department and the state disaster management authority are closely monitoring the low pressure formation, he said. The water level in rivers have decreased and water-logged areas are coming back to normal. Pinarayi said directions have been issued to various agencies to intervene in case heavy rain occurs in landslide-prone areas belying the weather forecasts. As many as 493 camps are functioning in the state now.