THANJAVUR: Cauvery delta farmers who have cultivated Samba and Thalady paddy have urged the State government not to stop water release from Mettur dam on January 28, the stipulated date, and instead sought to continue the release to save the crops which were raised in a delayed manner owing to heavy rains.
The water from Mettur reservoir is usually released on June 12 for irrigation of crops in the Cauvery delta districts and used to be closed on January 28.
For the current irrigation year, the reservoir was opened on June 12 and there was record cultivation of Kuruvai paddy. Samba cultivation area also stood at
3.43 lakh acres in Thanjavur district alone, which is a 10-year record.
However, farmers have urged the government to prolong the release of water beyond January 28 to save the standing Samba crops which were raised in a delayed manner.
"We had to delay transplanting the Samba nursery as there were heavy rains during the northeast monsoon and the fields were inundated," P Ayyaraj, a farmer from Budalur area, said. Paddy crop in Budalur, Kovilpathu, Chithirakkudi, Kachamangalam and Orathur are only around 100 days old and water is needed at least for another 30 days, he added.
V Sathyanarayanan, general secretary of Consortium of Cauvery Delta Farmers and farmer from Tiruvarur district, said that in some areas, farmers who lost their crop due to heavy rains, had gone in for raising nurseries once again and it had got delayed. "The crops in these areas are in middle age and water is needed till March 10," he said.
Another farmer, S Sivakumar of Manathidal area in Thanjavur district, said even now not enough water is being released for the standing Samba crop. "The closure of the dam should be postponed by at least for a week," he said.
A senior agro-technologist told TNIE that crops replanted are in scattered areas and to reach the fields, the government had to release more water than needed at the particular spots. "This would affect the prospects of Kuruvai as water in the dam would be depleted," he added. When contacted, an official from the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department said the situation would be assessed and a decision would be taken on extending the water release.