TN: Water Shortage Destroys Samba Paddy In Thanjavur Farmers Seek Compensation

(MENAFN- IANS) Thanjavur, Oct 11 (IANS) Farmers in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district have begun ploughing their withered samba paddy crops back into the soil as an acute irrigation shortage threatens cultivation around Melattur, prompting protests and demands for compensation.

Around 1,000 acres are under samba cultivation in Ranganathapuram and neighbouring areas near Melattur. Farmers said standing crops had dried up without adequate water, leaving them with little option but to destroy the damaged plants using tractors and plough their fields again.

The affected farmers entered their fields to stage a protest, urging the authorities to assess the losses and provide suitable compensation. They warned that their farmers' organisation would lay siege to the District Collector's office if their demands were not addressed.

According to the protesters, inadequate storage at the Mettur reservoir had disrupted irrigation supplies. They said water was released from the dam only after an 81-day interval, while samba paddy in several parts of the Cauvery delta continued to suffer from a lack of water.

Farmers said groundwater had offered little relief. Water drawn through pump sets was saline and unsuitable for irrigating their crops, preventing them from using it as an alternative to canal supplies. They alleged that thousands of acres of samba paddy across Melattur, Ranganathapuram, Vilithiyur, Annappanpettai and surrounding areas had been damaged by the shortage.

With crops drying beyond recovery, cultivators said they had incurred substantial losses and were now spending more to clear and plough the affected fields.

The protesters also complained that neither the Agriculture Minister nor officials had visited their fields to inspect the damage. They demanded that the departments concerned send teams to examine the affected paddy, record the extent of crop loss and arrange appropriate compensation.

For the cultivators, destroying the standing crop marks the loss of an entire season's effort.

The absence of dependable irrigation, coupled with unsuitable groundwater, has left farmers in the affected villages struggling to protect their fields.

The protest has brought attention to the distress facing samba growers in this part of Thanjavur district.

Farmers said an official assessment was urgently needed to establish the scale of the damage and ensure that affected cultivators received timely financial relief. They reiterated that the Collector's office blockade would follow if the authorities failed to inspect the damaged crops and respond to their compensation demand.

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