THANJAVUR: Samba and thaladi farmers in the district deprived of River Cauvery water for irrigation are pinning their hopes on the heavy rainfall forecast for the delta region for the next few days to save their standing paddy.
While samba and thaladi paddy cultivation have so far been taken up over 1.16 lakh hectares in the district, farmers in the absence of water release from Mettur dam have been forced to rely on groundwater and rain for irrigation. The crop across the district is either in vegetative or tillering state.
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department officials expect paddy over another 4,000 hectares to be transplanted during the current season. Against this backdrop, farmers who have transplanted paddy are in need of water for de-weeding and other purposes.
S Sivakumar of Manathidal said, “In our village there is need for de-weeding standing crop for which we need water. We did not get any rain from Cyclone Michaung. Hence there is a need for releasing water from Mettur dam at least for five days." R Sukumaran of Kakkarai said though standing crops are in need of water, it is prudent to open Mettur dam next month considering the rain forecast for the next few days.
K Packirisamy, a farmer of Ammapettai, also stressed the need for water for standing crops, particularly from River Vettaru, a distributary of the Vennaru. He also hoped that the orange alert issued by the meteorological department for districts, including Thanjavur, will bring rain to save the crops.
Meanwhile, agriculture department officials said under the prevented sowing clause of the Union government-backed crop insurance scheme, a total of 8,639 hectares falling under 45 villages in the district are found eligible for compensation. The process for releasing the claims to farmers from the villages is under way, they added.