Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Mettur storage insufficient for samba cultivation

CHENNAI: The current storage of 50 tmc (thousand million cubic) feet in the Mettur reservoir is not sufficient to meet irrigational needs of the samba crop in Cauvery delta districts.

Prudent management of the available water is imperative if the State’s ambitious plan of covering 4.5 lakh hectares is to be achieved, according to a Public Works Department official. However, the State has successfully completed kuruvai operation and harvest is going on in full swing.

On an average, about 1.5 tmcft of water is being released from the reservoir for delta irrigation as against the receipt of 6,000 cusecs. As there is little possibility of the reservoir getting copious inflow in the coming weeks, the present storage has to be managed till the onset of the north-east monsoon in October third week.

According to the official, only during the south-west monsoon, does the reservoir get heavy realisation. Of the 205 tmcft allotted to the State as per the interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, 137 tmcft is to be released during the south-west monsoon ( June-September) period, 56.59 tmcft in the north-east monsoon (October–December) and the balance in the rest of the months. So far, the reservoir realised only 112 tmcft as against 131 tmcft that was to be released till September 24.

As the south-west monsoon normally recedes by September last week, the storage in the reservoir had to be stretched till the onset of north-east monsoon, he added.

The kuruvai harvest is in full swing and will be completed either by September-end or October first week. Of the 3.81 lakh hectares brought under kuruvai in the State, harvest is over in about 1 lakh hectares. The average yield is 7 tonnes per hectare as against the State’s normal productivity of 5.6 tonnes per hectare. The increase in productivity is possible due to the system of rice intensification technique adopted by farmers, said an Agriculture Department deputy director.

In delta districts, kuruvai harvest is over in about 34,200 hectares, including 28,500 hectares in Nagapattinam.

In Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts, harvest has just commenced. As per the crop cutting experiment, the average productivity was 7.5 tonnes per hectare against the normal productivity of 5.5 tonnes.

With regard to samba paddy, the official said about 4.5 lakh hectares would be covered in the delta districts alone in the current agriculture year. Now farmers were busy raising nurseries. In 25,300 hectares, transplantation was over.

If the north-east monsoon was normal, there would be no problem for the department in ensuring adequate water for samba cultivation.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu