THANJAVUR: For farmers in the tail-end areas of Sethubavachatram in Thanjavur district, the question this samba season is whether they can cultivate paddy at all.

Six months without adequate rainfall, depleted water bodies and falling groundwater levels have left them uncertain about the next crop.

Farmers in the region usually begin direct sowing in May and June, relying on rainfall and not waiting for the opening of the Mettur dam.

Those with access to borewells also raise paddy nurseries for transplantation. This year, however, the prolonged dry spell has disrupted both practices.

Lakes and ponds have dried up, while the groundwater level has fallen sharply, with the source reporting that it has crossed 250 feet.

Even farmers who depend on borewells are apprehensive about proceeding with cultivation as groundwater availability declines.

The opening of the Mettur dam, which farmers traditionally look forward to, has also failed to bring relief to the tail-end areas.

The dam, usually opened on June 12, opened only on September 1 this year, a delay of 70 days. However, water has not reached the region, according to the source.

Over the past decade, farmers in the area have generally cultivated one samba crop, with around 60 per cent of the area under direct sowing and 40 per cent under transplantation.

In the past two years, adequate water from the Mettur dam enabled them to complete cultivation, while lakes and ponds were replenished and groundwater levels remained stable.

That experience has offered little reassurance this year.

With insufficient rainfall for direct sowing and inadequate dam water even to fill local water bodies, farmers worry whether they can begin cultivation through direct sowing or transplantation.

For the farming community in Sethubavachatram's tail-end areas, the immediate concern is no longer simply when the next water supply will arrive, but whether there will be enough water to start the samba season at all.