TN: Farmers urge Ramanathapuram administration to solve irrigation woes

As the paddy crops is at its maturing stage, we, farmers have agreed to share the available water in the tank to save the crops from wilting.
Farmers harvesting paddy | Express
Farmers harvesting paddy | Express

RAMANATHAPURAM: As irrigation woes continue to be one of the most frequented issues concerning the farmers of Ramanathapuram, farmers from several parts of the district have petitioned the district administration at a grievance meeting on Friday to put an end to the issue by providing water for irrigation.

With Samba paddy crops in its maturing stage, farmers from RS Mangalam, Thiruvadanai, Kadaladi, Kamuthi and Mudukulathur arrived at the grievance meeting with wilted paddy saplings to address the issue.

"Due to the lack of irrigation, the samba paddy crops have been wilting, adding to our woes. We have been facing difficulties since the district witness lesser rainfall during the monsoon than what was predicted," they claimed.

M Gavasker, a farmer from Thiruvadanai, said, "As the paddy crops is at its maturing stage, we, farmers have agreed to share the available water in the tank to save the crops from wilting. We spend Rs 300 per hour on diesel to pump water from the tank to irrigate our lands on a daily basis. We require water for three more stages in the coming days. Owing to issues like poorly maintained branch canal and inadequate amount of water released to the tanks, action should be taken towards recharging our tanks using water from Vaigai river."

Bakkianathan, president of Vaigai irrigation farmers association in Ramanathapuram sought action towards providing the Vaigai water to all the tanks in the district through branch canals instead of allowing it to flow into the sea. Almost all the paddy cultivation across the Kamudhi, Mudukulathur and Kadaladi areas are at risk of wilting, he said.

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