The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Farmers look to the skies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 30, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Farmers look to the skies

By V. Jayanth

CHENNAI, JUNE 29. Reports of early revival of monsoon and a spell of rain in Karnataka have brought some cheer to farmers in the delta districts. Not that a kuruvai crop is possible with a meagre storage of a meagre 30 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) in the Mettur dam, but for the reason of feasibility of at least a "good samba crop" this year.

The forecast from the Meteorological department and information from Agumbe and Coorg have certainly enthused the farmers. The inflow into Mettur from Kabini may have dwindled in recent days, but it has not stopped. Karnataka cannot hold any more quantum of water in the dam. If the monsoon revives this week and another spell of rain lashes the Coorg-Mercara region, the inflows will pick up again and add to the Mettur storage, authorities here hope.

Though Kuruvai has been taken up in a limited area in some parts, the Agriculture department has made it clear to the farmers that they cannot depend on the current storage to sustain the crop. A crop will be possible only in areas where groundwater and deep borewells are available.

Officials of the Public Works and Agriculture departments, who have been monitoring the situation in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have taken the stand that unless a storage of 40-50 tmcft is available in Mettur, it will be unwise to go for a kuruvai crop. Raising a crop well into July will be asking for trouble, because northeast monsoon rain may begin when it is due for harvest. A host of problems will arise, notably in procurement. Which is why the planning is focussed on ensuring a samba crop.

"We have time till the end of July. We are confident that we can build up sufficient storage in Mettur, provided the southwest monsoon is bountiful. With the northeast monsoon rain too, we may be able to see samba through," a senior official explains.

Both officials and farmers hope that Karnataka will "really release" some water from its other three reservoirs in July, to help Tamil Nadu build a storage. "There is disturbing information that Karnataka is releasing water locally to further deplete the levels in the other reservoirs", says a government source. Political pressure is mounting on the Centre to ensure that Karnataka shares Cauvery water with the lower riparian. Once the monsoon revives and becomes active, the constituents of the United Progressive Alliance from Tamil Nadu, it is expected, will ask for a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority in time to sort out the muddle and bring Karnataka round. The State Congress chief, G.K. Vasan, and the Pattali Makkal Katchi founder, S. Ramadoss, have criticised the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, for not visiting New Delhi and meeting the Prime Minister to seek his intervention.

The officials suggest that the Karnataka branch of the "Cauvery Family" now voice its view openly in that State and persuade the Government to release water. "That will be a real gesture and testimony to the understanding of the problem by the farmers there," reasons the senior official.

Technically, the southwest monsoon lasts till September, but Tamil Nadu will need some heavy rain in July so that more water can flow into Mettur to enable the authorities to decide on opening of the dam for irrigation.

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