TIRUCHY: Farmers from villages under Kulithalai taluk in Karur district have appealed to the state government to include the revenue villages of Kulithalai taluk in the Cauvery delta region as they are being deprived of subsidies. As inclusion in delta region provides several benefits, including subsidies from the Agriculture Department, farmers urged the government to bring Kulithalai back under the delta region.
Over 30,000 acres in the taluk receive irrigation water from the Cauvery through the Mayanur barrage. Farmers claimed that Kulithalai was within the delta region when it was part of Tiruchy district, along with Srirangam, Musiri and Tiruchy taluks. However, after Karur district was carved out of Tiruchy district in 1995, Kulithalai lost its delta status. Several revenue villages, including Kulithalai, Maruthur, Kumaramangalam, Manathattai, Nachalur, Inungur, Poyyamani, Valaiyapatti, Panikkampatti and Neithalur, fall under Kulithalai taluk.
According to officials, the High Level Kattalai Channel, Thenkarai Canal and Nangavaram Canal, which branch off from the Cauvery at the Mayanur barrage, irrigate about 23,000 acres, 7,000 acres and 2,500 acres, respectively. Deputy Secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, Kavandampatti R Subramanian, said that before the Cauvery water dispute, farmers across the delta region did not face water scarcity and cultivated three to four crops a year.
“Earlier, we used to receive water for nearly 11 months a year and cultivate even four crops. That is no longer the case, and we are now unable to take up Kuruvai cultivation. If Kulithalai is included in the delta region, farmers will be eligible for all subsidies extended to delta farmers, including those for seeds, fertilisers, farm machinery, and special packages announced for Samba and Kuruvai,” he said.
S Dhanapal, a farmer from Muthalaipatti in Kulithalai taluk, said that as a small farmer, inclusion in the delta region would enable him to access subsidies and help him carry out cultivation without financial hurdles. A senior Water Resources Department official told TNIE that areas where farmers cultivate Kuruvai, Samba and Thaladi crops are classified under the Cauvery delta and receive water from June 12 to January 28. Other areas outside the delta region receive water for about 11 months, from June to May.
“However, based on requests from farmers, the Karur district collector has forwarded a proposal to the government to include Kulithalai under the Cauvery delta region. We have also conveyed the farmers’ concerns to the government,” the official added.