Mettur level below 100 feet; 45 days not enough to take up samba: Delta Farmers

TIRUCHY: Even as they welcomed the announcement of water release from Mettur for 45 days from September 1, farmers in the Delta region said that the quantum would be inadequate to reach the tail-end parts, and demanded at least 90 days of discharge so that they could confidently start samba cultivation.

“The concept of fixing a duration for 45 days itself is wrong. No government has followed this so far. Samba crop could take between 105 and 125 days, and needs discharge of at least 10,000 cusecs per day. It will be possible only when Mettur level reaches 100 feet and the inflow is between 8,000 and 12,000 cusecs,” said Sami Natarajan, general secretary of the CPM-affiliated Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam.

According to him, no farmer would demand discharge for just 45 days when the Mettur level is merely 89 feet. “The water released would not reach the tail-end areas. Also, after 45 days, the dam may go empty and the farmers who commenced samba cultivation wouldn’t get water. The nurseries they planted may wither away,” Natarajan cautioned.

Opening the shutters after the dam reached 100 feet and following the turn system of irrigation would help realise at least a single crop samba, he opined. “The officials should take the reading of water availability every day and act accordingly. Otherwise, the release of water from September 1 for 45 days would be useless," he said.

Echoing him, P Viswanathan, president of Tamil Nadu River and Ayagutdars Association, said releasing water when the level in Mettur dam is below 100 feet could prove dangerous for farmers. As the dam could not be opened on the customary date of June 12, all waterbodies across the region has dried up and the groundwater level has also depleted.

“It would take at least 30 days for the water from Mettur to reach the main canals. The shutters should remain open for at least 90 days for the water to reach the tail-end areas. If that does not happen, cultivating samba could end in a disaster for farmers,” he said.

Viswanathan said the State government should get at least 60 TMC of water from Karnataka to realise samba cultivation in the Delta region. “We cannot trust the monsoon rains. Like how the Southwest monsoon failed, the Northeast monsoon, too, may fail,” he said. If his fears come true, venturing into samba cultivation would result in a huge loss, he said, advising that the farmers should wait until the outflow reaches a minimum of 30,000 cusecs per day.

AS THINGS STAND

• Level: 89.24 feet (full level : 120 feet)

• Inflow: 7,454 cusecs

• Outflow: 2,003 cusecs

• Capacity: 51.787 TMC (full capacity: 93.470 TMC)

(Data on August 27)