PERAMBALUR: Farmers of Moongilpadi village in Perambalur district are a happy lot. They have begun cultivating paddy after a gap of 12 years, thanks to the recent rains which filled all the lakes.
According to sources, there are three lakes, including Velliyankulam, Periyayeri (spread across 40 acres) and Ooryeri in Moongilpadi village of Kunnam taluk. These are chain-linked and fill one by one following heavy rains.
For the last 12 years, the lakes did not receive much water owing to insufficient rain and lack of proper maintenance. Therefore, farmers had started cultivating crops like cotton and maize, instead of paddy. In this situation, the lakes started to overflow following the recent heavy rains.
Thiyagarajan, a farmer from Mungilpadi, said, "Paddy was cultivated in our area using this irrigation lake 12 years ago. After that, I could not cultivate paddy owing to the lack of water supply to this lake and its poor maintenance. I am very happy to plant paddy once again on my 1.5 acres this year. Several others in the village have also started cultivating paddy. Our lakes have not had water for years because they lack sufficient depth and maintenance. Authorities have to deepen these lakes and renovate them and the canals."
Another farmer, A Chandrasekar, said, "We used to cultivate maize and cotton as there was no water in our lakes. But, we never got any profit from these. My maize and cotton crops were affected by this year's heavy rains, making our situation worse. The authorities should provide us with sufficient compensation. Nevertheless, we have started cultivating paddy owing to the availability of water. This will help us feed our cattle, meet our household needs and also get a small profit."