Nagapattinam, Aug 31 (IANS) Farmers in Nagapattinam have urged the Tamil Nadu government to postpone the proposed release of water from the Mettur dam on September 1 by at least 10 days, warning that the planned 45-day supply would be inadequate for samba paddy cultivation.
Echoing concerns raised by cultivators in other Cauvery delta districts, the farmers said the present schedule could leave standing crops without irrigation for at least 15 days before the onset of the northeast monsoon.
Nagapattinam, being a tail-end district, is likely to face greater difficulties as water released from Mettur generally takes about 10 days to reach its irrigation channels. Farmers said this would substantially reduce the effective period of water availability in the district.
Similar concerns have also been raised in neighbouring Tiruvarur. P Senthil Kumar, a farmer from Thalainayar, said the proposed duration of the release would not be sufficient to meet Nagapattinam’s irrigation requirements. He said cultivators could face a serious crisis if the northeast monsoon gets delayed or fails after the Mettur supply was stopped.
The northeast monsoon is crucial for agriculture in Nagapattinam, where farmers depend heavily on Cauvery water. Groundwater in large parts of the coastal district is saline and unsuitable for sustained irrigation.
S.R. Tamilselvan of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association said the extent of samba cultivation would depend largely on the arrival of the monsoon because Cauvery water was being assured for only 45 days.
Amid uncertainty over water availability, several farmers are opting for medium-duration paddy varieties with a crop cycle of about 135 days. Some are also considering shorter-duration varieties to reduce the danger of crop losses and complete cultivation before irrigation availability becomes critical after January.
CPI(M) state secretary P. Shanmugam said a 45-day water release would be insufficient for paddy cultivation. Samba crops required at least 120 days of assured irrigation, and the government’s restricted release schedule had created confusion among delta farmers, he said.
Tamil Nadu Farmers Association state general secretary Sami Natarajan said the government should have convened consultation meetings with farmers before deciding when to open the dam, particularly when the Mettur storage level was low, and inflow had not met expectations.
Pointing to earlier water-deficit years, Natarajan said Mettur was opened on September 6 in 2002, September 17 in 2012 and September 20 in 2016. He urged the government to follow a similar approach this year and release water during the second week of September so that the limited supply would remain available during a more critical stage of samba cultivation.
–IANS
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