TIRUCHY: With rain gods yet to smile on them, the delta farmers, already reeling under acute water shortage, are apprehensive of taking up Kuruvai cultivation. Though there is still a month before the farmers would begin sowing seeds, the low water level in the Mettur dam has made the prospects of a full-fledged season appear bleak.
A cross-section of the farmers are banking on the government to show the way by suggesting alternative short-term crops instead of Kuruvai. The farmers also said that water should be released in March and April to augment the level in Mettur after the Samba cultivation.
Stating that most of the cultivators would not take up Kuruvai owing to water scarcity, the farmers said that the government ought to impart training to the ryots on alternatives.
According to V Rajaram, working president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, the low level at Mettur, coinciding with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) prediction of low rainfall has sent shockwaves among the farming community.
“The government should take steps and train farmers to cultivate short-term horticultural crops for three months instead of Kuruvai. At the same time, the government should sense the fact that the farmers are suffering a lot in terms of paddy cultivation and have been incurring losses for the past three years,” he added. Ayilai Sivasuriyan, district secretary Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the CPI, said, “Usually, when farmers undertake Kuruvai, the Mettur level stands around 90-foot-mark, but it is highly unlikely that the dam would reach that level, making the prospect of cultivation appear bleak.” When contacted, Joint Director of Agriculture, S Mathiyazhagan, said, “We would try to sensitise the farmers on taking up alternative crops.”