TIRUCHY: Farmers from Thanjavur staged a road block protest on Monday, demanding the release of water from Mettur till the end for saving the standing samba and thalady.
The farmers who were holding the dried crops at Thanjavur-Thiruvaiyaru Road said that the Mettur dam normally is opened for Delta cultivation on June 12 and closed on the customary date of January 28. But this time, the kuruvai cultivation was affected due to unexpected rain and cyclonic weather and the harvest was also affected. Hence, the following samba and thalady cultivation were delayed.
Despite water being released from Mettur on June 12, it failed to reach the tail-end regions, and as a result, the 100-day-old samba and thalady started withering due to water scarcity. The farmers demanded to release water till the end of February or at least for 15 days to realise the samba target.
On information, Water Resources Department AEE Saravanan rushed to the spot along with the police and held talks with the agitating farmers. Upon assurance by the officials, they dispersed the spot. Traffic was disrupted for more than an hour.