CHENNAI: Former agriculture minister and DMK leader MRK Panneerselvam on Wednesday alleged that the delayed opening of the Mettur dam has severely affected kuruvai cultivation in the delta and could lead to a major fall in paddy production.
In a statement, Panneerselvam said farmers lost valuable time for the short-term crop, which is usually harvested by September. He said the delay would also create problems for samba and thaladi cultivation.
The DMK leader said the delta districts would need around 205 TMC of water for samba and thaladi cultivation and warned that farmers may now have to depend heavily on the northeast monsoon and water received from Karnataka.
He further claimed that experts had warned of a possible loss of around 12 lakh tonnes of paddy in delta. He added that water would take more time to reach tail-end areas as rivers and irrigation channels had remained dry for a long period.