Mettur water yet to reach delta canals, farmers delay samba cultivation

Thanjavur, Sep 26 (IANS) Twenty-five days after water was released from the Mettur dam, many canals in the Cauvery delta remain dry, leaving farmers reluctant to begin samba paddy cultivation.

The delay has raised concerns that a late crop could be exposed to heavy rain during the northeast monsoon.

The uncertainty is affecting preparations across the delta districts. With inadequate storage in Mettur, the dam was opened on September 1 instead of the customary June 12.

Releases from the Grand Anicut began on September 6 for irrigation through the Cauvery, Vennar, Grand Anicut Canal and Kollidam systems.

Farmers say the flows remain too low to reach fields at the tail end of the network. The Cauvery is receiving 4,901 cubic feet per second (cusecs) against a stated carrying capacity of 10,691 cusecs.

The corresponding figures are 1,408 cusecs against 9,370 for the Vennar and 1,500 against 3,380 for the Grand Anicut Canal.

Smaller channels fed by these waterways have consequently received little water. P. Chinnadurai, president of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, said the present release of about 12,000 cusecs from Mettur would not serve the tail-end areas.

He called for a release of 22,000 cusecs to carry water through the system. Many canals have still not received water, he said, while the southwest monsoon has brought less rain than farmers had expected.

Even in some head-reach canals where water has arrived, the flow is so shallow and slow that it has yet to enter fields. Farmers who depend on river irrigation are therefore waiting, while those with deep borewells have been able to start planting.

Chinnadurai said many cultivators now plan to sow or transplant only after the northeast monsoon begins in the Tamil month of Aippasi, which starts in October.

He estimated that as many as 90 per cent of farmers could be forced to start late. Against a district target of 3.12 lakh acres under samba and thaladi paddy, samba cultivation has begun on only 20,384 acres.

Farmers fear that further delays, followed by intense monsoon rain, could damage the crop. They have urged the state government to secure Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water from Karnataka and ensure adequate supplies for the entire cultivation season.

—IANS

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