NAGAPATTINAM: As the Mettur dam is yet to be opened for Cauvery water release this year, curbing Kuruvai cultivation across most parts of Nagapattinam, farmers urged the state government to extend all the benefits under the Kuruvai Special Package Scheme to samba cultivation so that those who were unable to raise Kuruvai are not deprived of the assistance. They also sought compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre for farmers who were unable to take up Kuruvai cultivation or suffered crop losses.
S R Tamilselvan of the TN Farmers Protection Association said the non-opening of the Mettur dam had left thousands of farmers without irrigation water during the crucial sowing period. “As most farmers are not able to take up Kuruvai and benefit from the Kuruvai Special Package Scheme, the State government should extend its benefits to Samba cultivation.
Otherwise, a large number of affected farmers will be left out of the assistance,” he said. Sources said the Kuruvai Special Package provides assistance for mechanised paddy transplantation and direct seeding, the supply of bio-fertilisers, distribution of micronutrient fertiliser mixtures for paddy, subsidies for certified paddy seeds, and incentives for producing certified seeds of newly released paddy varieties.
P Kamal Ram, a farmer from Thalainayar, urged the government to declare the district an agriculturally distressed region and provide compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre to farmers who were unable to cultivate or suffered losses.
