NAGAPATTINAM: Lack of water in the Cauvery and depleting groundwater levels has taken a toll on Kuruvai cultivation across Nagapattinam, with the district taking up Kuruvai cultivation on just 1,118.5 hectares this year, compared to around 30,000 hectares in 2025.
Even in the pockets where Kuruvai is cultivated with groundwater resources, farmers say the Kuruvai crop is failing as the standing paddies have withered under the combined impact of intense summer heat, scanty rainfall and rapidly depleting groundwater levels.
Of the villages that utilize groundwater for cultivation, farmers in Tirumarugal block, a major contributor to Kuruvai cultivation using groundwater, say prolonged pumping to sustain the crop has burnt out several irrigation motors in the block.
Tirumarugal accounts for 1,093 hectares of the total coverage, while Nagapattinam, Kilvelur and Thalainayar blocks have reported only 5.5 hectares, 10 hectares, and 10 hectares, respectively. The absence of Cauvery water has left farmers without irrigation, forcing them to depend on groundwater, which is available only in a few pockets.
“I cultivated Kuruvai paddy on more than six acres, but the entire crop has dried up due to the prolonged dry spell and intense heat. The crops were around 60-80 days. With no rainfall to recharge the aquifers, groundwater levels have also fallen sharply,” said Polagam, a farmer from Tirumarugal.
“We kept running the pump for hours to draw whatever little groundwater was available. Eventually, the motor burned out, and now there is hardly any water left in the borewell,” he added.
Farmers said many Kuruvai fields are in the flowering stages, when the crop requires adequate irrigation. The prolonged dry spell and lack of Cauvery water have caused moisture stress, with several fields beginning to wither, raising fears of heavy yield losses, said Polagam.
“Only a few pockets with access to usable groundwater have managed to raise the crop this season. Agriculture in Nagapattinam depends on Cauvery irrigation, as groundwater in several parts of the district is saline and inadequate,” said S R Tamilselvan of the TN Farmers’ Protection Association.
“The district remains heavily dependent on Cauvery water for Kuruvai cultivation. Without timely release of water from the Mettur dam, sustaining the Kuruvai crop is virtually impossible in most parts of Nagapattinam,” said KP Ambikapathi, a farmer from Vedaranyam.
