The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Delay in water release costs farmers dearly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 20, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Delay in water release costs farmers dearly

By S. Sundar

MADURAI, OCT.19. The 12-day additional delay in release of water from the Vaigai dam for irrigating the first crop in the double crop area, even after the combined Periyar credit touched the mandatory level, has cost a section of farmers dearly.

The fully-grown crops have fallen down, thanks to the recent showers, causing loss in yield to the ryots. "Some of them face a total loss," an official said.

While the initial delay of 19 days was owing to lack of sufficient storage in the Periyar and Vaigai dams, the "official" delay of the 12 days thereafter prolonged the time of ripening of the paddy crop. Even as the crops were maturing for harvest, the showers played spoilsport.

Normally water is released for 45,000 acres of the first crop of the double crop between Peranai and Kallandiri on June 1, provided the combined storage stood at 4000 mcft. The release on June 1 will provide ample time for the farmers to complete the seed-to-harvest farming activity before September 15, when usually the next monsoon — the northeast monsoon — sets in. However, despite the storage reaching the mandatory 4000 mcft on June 19, the delay in getting the nod for release of water from the State Government has shattered the dreams of the farmers, who started land preparation only after the July 2 water release.

But another official said that the time taken to replenish the Vaigai dam with the Periyar water was also a cause for the delay in water release for irrigation.

"Around 20 per cent crop out of the 45000 acres face yield loss, especially in the tail-end regions and where no well irrigation is available to start agricultural operation, pre-empting water release through the Periyar Main Canal," the official said.

Not only the ryots have lost the grains, but also considerable quantity of hay. With the crops falling on water-logged fields, the farmers have to leave behind at least 50 per cent of the drenched hay. "The cattle will not at all look at these drenched fodder," he said.

This kind of loss could be seen at Vadipatti, Chittampatti, Mettupatti and Kallandiri, the official added.

Yet another delay

Meanwhile, there is again delay in release of water for the single crop area of 1.50 lakh acres of agricultural land in Madurai, Dindigul and Sivaganga districts.

There is a marked silence on the release of water despite the combined Periyar credit reaching the mandatory 6000 mcft, including over 2000 mcft water stored in irrigation tanks last week.

"The release is already 34 days behind the actual schedule (normal release is on September 15) and any further delay will lead us to face water scarcity during the critical stage," a farmer said.

"Even if the water is released by October 25, the crop will mature only by February 15, when water flow in the canal along with the monsoon recedes," he said.

The present wet-soil condition and monsoon showers should be exploited to the maximum (by immediate release of water), as this would help water managers by means of suspending irrigation whenever it rained, an engineer said.

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