TIRUCHY: With Cauvery water released from Mettur dam on September 1 flowing into tail-end Karaikal district on Sunday, farmers in Tiruchy have urged the state government to release water in all the 17 irrigation canals in the district to save samba paddy nurseries they have raised.
Citing the present storage in the Mettur dam, farmers also questioned the government if it has drawn up contingency plans to save crops if flow of water in the Cauvery stops after 25 days. According to WRD data, the water level in the Mettur dam was 84.16 feet (46.228 tmcft) as of Tuesday evening. The dam received inflow of 3,867 cusecs of water and the discharge was 12,000 cusecs.
Last year, samba paddy was cultivated in 54,929 hectares in Tiruchy district. However, this year agriculture department officials were yet to give clarity on the target area, farmers said.
Vayalur N Rajendran, state treasurer of the farmers’ wing of Tamil Manila Congress, said “Believing that the government would ensure adequate water flow in all 17 canals, farmers raised nurseries. But now we don’t have water to save them. Due to power outages, farmers are finding it difficult to use motor pumps to irrigate the fields. The government should announce fuel subsidy to enable farmers use diesel pump sets.”
K Thangaraj, a retired IAF officer and farmer from Tiruchy, questioned the Tamil Nadu government over the absence of a Plan B to help farmers. In a letter to Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar, he asked what measures had been taken to prevent agricultural lands in Tiruchy district from turning barren.
According to Thangaraj, it has been 21 days since water was released into the Cauvery, but not a single drop has reached the Puthu Ayyan Canal, which irrigates lands in Thirupparaithurai.
“The present water flow in the river is expected to continue for only another 25 days. How can farmers raise crops with such limited water? The government should come up with a clear alternative plan,” he said.
PR Pandian, president of the Tamil Nadu All Farmers Association Coordination Committee, said the state government to seek the intervention of the Cauvery Water Management Authority to secure Tamil Nadu’s due share of Cauvery water as per the Supreme Court order. Otherwise, Tamil Nadu would have no other way to safeguard farming and farmers, he said.
Officials from the Water Resources Department said water has been released into a few canals, including the Uyyakondan, and it would reach the fields by Wednesday. “Usually, water is released into canals only after water is released from Kallanai for delta cultivation. We started releasing water into the canals from September 7, the day after water was released from Kallanai, in turn system. It may take one or two days for the water to reach the fields,” a senior official from the Water Resources Department told TNIE.
