Tamil Nadu

Rain brings cheers to ryots in delta districts

Photo:M. Moorthy

WET SPELL: Two-wheeler riders trying their best to take cover from sudden rains in Tiruchi on Wednesday. —

TIRUVARUR: Widespread moderate rains in several parts of the delta region of Tiruvarur district on Wednesday is beneficial to the water starved standing samba paddy crop to some extent raised in 1.08 lakh hectares in the district.

Collector M. Chandrasekaran, told on Wednesday that the rains were timely and beneficial to the samba and thaladi paddy crops in the district. He said that if widespread moderate rains continued for a few more days, the entire samba and thaladi paddy crops could be saved. Several areas in Tiruthuraipoondi, Kottur, Mannargudi, Nannilam, Needamangalam and Tiruvarur blocks recorded moderate rains on Wednesday morning.

He said that the district administration was taking steps to provide adequate water in the Vennar river systems to enable the farmers to raise the thaladi paddy crops in the remaining 7,000 hectares in the district.

Rainfall was recorded in all parts of the district, bringing cheers to farmers who have been complaining of dried up crops and parched fields.

Arupathy Kalyanam, general secretary, Federations of Farmer Welfare Association, said, “the rains have come late but brought relief to the farmers. Hopefully, there will be more rain in the coming days to ensure good yields for the samba season.”

K. Dhanapal, secretary, Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, said, “today’s rains have been widespread and have solved the immediate demands of the tail-end region farmers. But long-term perspective should also be taken to conserve Mettur dam water till the end of the season. For this, the government should encourage more groundwater use in the Cauvery region by increasing power supply and giving subsidies so that the discharge can be reduced and total water conserved.”

Thanjavur district experienced heavy downpour on Wednesday. Agriculture department officials said that the rain was beneficial to the standing samba crop. “The rain was widespread. It will help completion of transplantation in some areas of Pattukottai and Peravurani. The rain should continue,” said Senthamil Selvan, Joint Director of Agriculture.

Collector M. S. Shanmugham, said that the rain was a welcome one as farmers in tail end areas like Peravurani are in need of water and as the storage in the Mettur dam was also coming down.

Tiruchi city and surrounding villages experienced moderate showers on Wednesday.

Agriculture Department officials hope that the onset of the northeast monsoon would be of much benefit to the paddy-cultivators, as it would help control the incidence of pest attack. Leaf-roller and stem borer are the common pest attack, occurring in the absence of showers for a prolonged period. The onset of the monsoon would help reduce the attack, Assistant Director of Seed Certification R. Rajasekaran said.

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