THANJAVUR: With uncertainty looming over the release of water from Mettur dam for taking up irrigation in delta districts, given low storage, the farmers who used to cultivate a single crop of Samba paddy, using canal water, are a worried lot, anxiously waiting for enough rain in Cauvery catchment areas for the increased inflow into Mettur dam.
The Cauvery water from Mettur dam could not be released on the customary date of June 12 this year as the storage was very low. On Sunday (July 12), the water level in the dam stood at 75.83 feet (37.93 TMC) and the inflow was only 91 cusecs.
Last year, on the same date, the dam was full with water level at 120 feet (93.47 TMC). Farmers solely dependent on canal water for irrigation did not take up the short-term Kuruvai crop in the hope that they could cultivate the single crop of Samba paddy. According to an estimate, around three lakh farmers take up Samba paddy cultivation in the five districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam and Tiruchy.
S Vimalnathan, secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association, said, “If water is released late, Samba cultivation cannot be taken up in around six lakh acres in delta districts, which could lead to a production loss of 12 lakh tonnes of paddy.”
The farmers taking up Samba cultivation need to be provided with a special package akin to Kuruvai package, he added. He also demanded convening a meeting of ministers and secretaries concerned along with farmers to assess the situation and to recommend alternative solutions.
P Kalaivanan of senior agro technologists forum said even if water is released from Mettur in September first week, around 130-140 TMC will be needed for the Samba, thaladi crop in the delta region.
“There was also no significant rain in the area and the groundwater level is also declining,” said KA Koothalingam, a farmer from Pallathur in Thanjavur. R Sukumaran of Orathanadu in Thanjavur district said, “Leave alone cultivating Samba paddy crops, the farmers who have cultivated Kuruvai paddy using groundwater will be struggling to save the crops as there is no canal water to recharge groundwater.”
P Sukumar of Tiruvaiyaru area in Thanjavur said the farmers may have to go in for medium-duration Samba paddy varieties if water is available in the first week of September. SR Tamil Selvan of TN Farmers’ Protection Association of Nagapattinam said Samba cultivation decisions will depend on both the onset of the north-east monsoon and the availability of Cauvery water. Official sources said low water level is the reason for not opening the dam. “The prospects for farmers taking up Samba paddy are uncertain as the water level in Mettur is low,” said an official of agriculture department.
(With inputs from D Vincent Arockiaraj @ Tiruchy, Mohamed Salahudeen B @ Nagapattinam)