CHENNAI: It is a problem of plenty for farmers of the Cauvery delta districts.

During the last four years, they could not successfully complete their farming operations due to drought and insufficient water supply from the Mettur Reservoir.

This year though the reservoir has had more than sufficient inflows, the early onset of the north-east monsoon has created problems. The late release of water from the reservoir this year delayed samba cultivation in the delta districts by at least a month.

While those with pump sets raised nurseries well in advance, farmers who depended on river water had to wait till the release of water from the reservoir. Those who raised nurseries early had completed their transplantation and the rain over the last two days will be beneficial. But for the rest of the farmers, the early rain has caught them on the wrong foot — they cannot undertake transplantation due to heavy rain.

At present only 30 to 40 per cent of nurseries have been transplanted. With the present spell of heavy rain, transplantation has to be postponed, which means the seedlings will mature and this will affect the final yield. If the farmers go in for transplantation despite the rains, it would do more harm than good, general secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association S. Ranganathan said.

Meanwhile, the Mettur Reservoir continued to receive copious inflow thanks to heavy rains in Dharmapuri and Salem districts.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail