THANJAVUR: The government announcement on the release of River Cauvery water from the Mettur dam on the customary date of June 12 this year and the forecast of early onset of the southwest monsoon have brightened the prospects of kuruvai paddy cultivation acreage in the delta region surpassing last year’s figures, say officials and agriculture experts alike.
Supporting this, farmers too say they have skipped the second iteration of cultivation of crops like black gram and sesame to get ready for kuruvai season. Replying to a calling attention motion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on April 25, Minister for Water Resources Durai Murugan said water will be released from the Mettur dam on the customary date of June 12 to facilitate irrigation in the delta districts.
The water storage level in the Mettur dam also indicates to this. The water level in the reservoir stood at 108.30 feet (76 TMC) on Thursday evening as compared to 51.81 feet (19 TMC) on the same day last year. Last year, the low storage level led to the dam shutters being opened only on July 28, which is 47 days after the customary date.
Due to the delayed opening, most farmers in tail-end areas, particularly in Nagapattinam district, could not take up kuruvai cultivation last year. With the river water set to be released as per schedule this year, the area under cultivation is only expected to increase substantially in the upcoming kuruvai season.
"With the prospects of water release on the scheduled date and the IMD's (India Meteorological Department) forecast of good rains in Cauvery catchment areas during the southwest monsoon, there are chances of an increase in the area under kuruvai paddy cultivation this year compared to last," said P Kalaivanan of the Tamil Nadu Senior Agro Technologists Forum.
Meanwhile, Sami Natarajan, a farmer from Orathanadu and the state general secretary of the Tamil Nadu farmers’ association, said, "With the date of opening of the Mettur dam announced a month earlier, the farmers of delta districts are preparing for kuruvai paddy cultivation."
"Many farmers skipped the second round of cultivating black gram and sesame, and are getting ready for kuruvai paddy cultivation," the farmer leader said, adding that the government needs to stock up on short-term paddy varieties and arrange hassle-free crop loans to take up a successful cultivation.
Agriculture and farmers’ welfare department officials, too, say the cultivation acreage will increase during the upcoming kuruvai season and added that seeds of paddy varieties, including ADT-53, Co-51, ASD-16, TPS-5 and Co-55, are being stocked up in government depots. More seeds will be procured based on demand, they further said.
Official projection of kuruvai cultivation District Estimate (in ha) Last year acreage (in ha) Thanjavur 78,450 61,800 Tiruvarur 70,000 39,962 Nagapattinam 24,860 1,736 Mayiladuthurai 39,208 39,208