Samba Crops in Thanjavur District Drying Up Without Water
Thanjavur: The farmers in Pottuachavadi, a village in Thanjavur district, are facing a major challenge as their samba crops, which were sprouted through direct sowing during the samba season, are drying up due to lack of water. In order to save their young paddy crops, the farmers have resorted to using diesel motors to pump water from the Kallanai canal river to their fields.
Water was released from the Mettur Dam on June 12 for Cauvery Delta irrigation. Subsequently, on the 16th, water was distributed from Kallanai to the Cauvery, Vennar, and Kallanai canals for irrigation. However, despite the efforts, insufficient water has affected about 3 lakh acres of sub-crops out of the total 5.20 lakh acres planted in the delta districts.
To address this issue, the agriculture department has provided seeds and fertilizers to the farmers for samba cultivation. However, due to insufficient rainfall and declining water availability in the Mettur Dam, farmers were delaying the planting of samba, which was supposed to start in the first week of August.
Despite the challenges, farmers in Thanjavur and neighboring districts, including Tiruvarur, Nagai, and Mayiladuthurai, have begun samba cultivation in around 40 thousand acres and 80 thousand acres, respectively, using motor pumpsets, borewell irrigation, and river irrigation.
With the decline in water flow from the Mettur Dam, the water supply from Kallanai to Kaveri and Kallanai Canal has also decreased, resulting in insufficient water for the paddy fields. As a result, farmers are now using diesel motors to pump water stored in rivers, ponds, and ponds to their fields in the hope that the upcoming northeast monsoon will provide the necessary water after the rice crop has grown.
Specifically, farmers in Pottuachavadi have been pumping stagnant water from the Kallanai canal river day and night to save the samba paddy crops that have sprouted in 70 acres but are drying up without water.
Speaking about the situation, a farmer from Tiruthurapoondi, Masilamani, mentioned that only farmers who have access to motor pumpsets from nearby bore wells can afford to buy water and carry out irrigation. In coastal areas like Muthupet and Tiruthurapundi union areas, operating adjacent motor pumpsets simultaneously is not possible, causing more difficulties for the farmers.
Another farmer from Potuvachavadi, K. Madhavan, stated that they rely on river irrigation for agriculture as they do not have a pumpset. Despite the additional cost of pumping water from the Kallanaik canal river using a diesel motor, they are determined to save the withering crops.
The farmers in the affected areas are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the northeast monsoon to alleviate the water scarcity and ensure the survival of their samba crops.