KANNIYAKUMARI: The farmers in Kanniyakumari district are still bearing the brunt of heavy rains in November last. The rains that lashed Chenbagaramanputhoor, Thovalai, and Amachikonam areas, delayed paddy cultivation and consequently, the harvest too came about untimely and deficient.
The temporary restoration of waterbodies took 28 days following the downpour. Then water was released into irrigation channels and the rabi season cultivation commenced. "The rains pounded the region harshly. After a delay of over a month, farmers began sowing seeds in about 1,000 hectares of land here. Usually, the crops are harvested between February and mid-March. However, this year it went on till April. Due to the untimely cultivation, pests attacked the crops and damaged a whole lot of them. Then, adding insult to injury, the summer rains arrived," Chenbagaramanputhur Farmers Association President N Rakkisamuthu told TNIE.
The farmers said they all incurred huge amounts of losses and the crop insurance claim would not suffice to cover it. M Rajendran, a farmer from Thovalai, said he took up agriculture on a parcel of land he had taken for lease in Thovalai. "In the end, the crops were killed by pests and all my hard work and investment amounted to nothing," he added. Another farmer N Dhamodaran from Thiruvidaicode, said the paddy cultivation in Amachikonam and Pattakulam areas, near Aanaikedanku in Kalukulam taluk, also got delayed due to damages to the PP channel. The farmers requested the authorities to consider their plight and extend compensation.
When contacted, agriculture department officials said untimely cultivation and summer rains had affected the paddy harvest at Chenbagaramanputhoor, Thovalai and Aanaikedanku. They also went on to add that pest attack was in no way a reason for the low yield.