Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Paddy fields develop cracks, samba prospects bleak

By G. Srinivasan

Thanjavur Dec. 29. The prospects of the samba crop raised in the Cauvery delta districts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur look bleak for want of sufficient water.

The crop is in the flowering and `boot leaf' stage (bearing grains). But the fields have developed cracks and the farmers are keeping their fingers crossed whether they would be able to harvest the crop.

With the Mettur dam closed, available water from the Grand Anaicut is being released for irrigation now.

But the release has not been adequate to meet the needs of the tail-end areas. Moreover, the PWD has promised water release from the Grand Anaicut only for three days from Saturday and further release would depend upon the storage at the Mettur dam.

The level at the dam remains low at 43 ft. and storage only 15 tmcft. Leaving the dead storage of six-seven tmcft, another seven to eight tmcft would be available for release which might not be sufficient to sustain the crop which requires water for another month.

Farmers raised samba late in the season, thanks to uncertainty over water release from the Mettur dam.

Rains brought them some cheer, encouraging them to raise the crop.

Now, with the crop grown up, acute water scarcity stares them in the face.

Cultivation had been affected throughout this year for want of water.

With Tamil Nadu and Karnataka engaged in a legal battle on the Cauvery issue and the rains playing truant, farmers lost kuruvai crop this year.

And samba has been raised only on half of the normal cultivable area.

In Thanjavur district, it has been raised only on 73,949 hectares against the normal cultivable area of 1,20,000 hectares. Thaladi (raised in areas after harvesting short-term kuruvai crop), which would be normally raised on 40,000 hectares, now covers only 14,514 hectares.

Of the 73,949 hectares of samba coverage, transplantation has been done on 60,969 hectares and direct sowing (without transplantation; seeds sown and allowed to grow in rain water) on 12,980 hectares.

Last year, the crop was raised on 1,01,216 hectares.

Farmers apprehend that they may not be able to harvest the grains if the present water crisis continued.

They demand waiver of land tax and all co-operative loans borrowed by them. The economic condition of farmers remain pathetic in the two districts. While the Government boasts of relieving rural women from the clutches of moneylenders through its schemes and micro credit schemes, farmers are now forced to be at the mercy of moneylenders, says Rajan, a farmer from Nachiyarkoil.

"In villages, farmers take loans from moneylenders to repay the loans already borrowed. It has become a vicious circle. With continuous failure of crops, farmers are in a perennial debt trap.''

If the samba also failed them, there may be suicides next year as happened in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, farmers fear.

Fodder has also become a problem now and farmers pay Rs. 100 a haystack to feed the cattle. Even this is not available in many areas.

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