Tamil Nadu: Delta farmers begin new cultivation season with high hopes
MK Stalin opened the sluices of Mettur reservoir on June 12 for the Cauvery river to flow into Upper Anicut in Tiruchy on June 14. The water was then released to the Grand Anicut as received, which was once again ceremoniously released by the Chief Minister for irrigation in the Delta region on Sunday
Water gushing through the shutters of Grand Anicut (Kallanai) for Delta irrigation on Sunday
TIRUCHY: With the release of water from Mettur on its customary date of June 12 and the subsequent release from the Grand Anicut for Delta irrigation, the region's farmers, elated to start the new cultivation year, have welcomed ‘Mother Cauvery’, the lifeline of Tamil Nadu's rice bowl.
The jubilant farmers have expressed hope that they will be able to realise the kuruvai target this year due to favourable conditions, including the prediction of an on-time monsoon and a healthy groundwater level in several districts.
The Cauvery river basin lies in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry, and there is a reason for the farmers from Tamil Nadu to cheer when the flow of the Cauvery is good and strong.
Of the total area of the basin, 41.2 per cent falls in the state of Karnataka, while Tamil Nadu enjoys the maximum area flow of over 55.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent in Kerala. Over 90 per cent of the water from the river basin is utilised for agriculture.
Chief Minister MK Stalin opened the sluices of Mettur reservoir on June 12, and it reached Upper Anicut in Tiruchy on Saturday (June 14), and the water was released to Grand Anicut as received.
On Sunday (June 15), the Chief Minister will once again release water from Grand Anicut for Delta irrigation.
The Cauvery flows through Thanjavur, the Granary of Tamil Nadu, enters the musical tirtha of Tiruvaiyuru and then joins the sea at Poompuhar, which was previously called ‘the Kaveripoompattinam’, where ‘Kannagi’, the legendary Tamil woman, lived. Thus, it has a vital role in the life of the people of Tamil Nadu, particularly the farming community from the Cauvery Delta region.
“Cauvery does not play a role in irrigation alone, but also most of the major religious festivals linger around the Cauvery, and so we give a divine space for the Mother Cauvery,” said Ayilai Siva Sooriyan, Tiruchy district president of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association.
True to his comments, the farmers as well as the public from the region used to accord a divine welcome to the Cauvery.
“We sprinkle flowers and welcome Cauvery with ‘arathi’ with divinity whenever the river flows into Tamil Nadu and sprinkle paddy seeds to mark the beginning of a new cultivation year with Kuruvai. Above all, we pray to the Mother Cauvery to help us get a good harvest, and the first day of release of water will be a day of festivity,” Siva Sooriyan further said.
Meanwhile, in certain areas on the border of Tamil Nadu, the people used to prostrate before the river when it filled the land.
“We make all kinds of rituals before the water enters our field for irrigation. Though the government has been desilting the irrigation canals, we, on our part, make sure that the canals reach our fields. Before that, we perform rituals and pujas before commencing the cultivation,” said Sukumaran, a farmer from Tiruvaiyaru.
“Whenever water is released on the customary date of June 12, we never miss a bumper harvest. And this time too, we are confident of another bumper harvest,” Sukumaran stated further.
True to this argument, last year, the water from Mettur was released on July 28 due to poor storage in the reservoir, and the kuruvai cultivation could be realised only up to 3.45 lakh acres against the cultivation of 5.25 lakh acres in 2023 in the districts like Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai. As the water is released on the customary date this year, the farmers from the region sentimentally believe that the kuruvai target would certainly be achieved this year.
Meanwhile, the officials from the agriculture department said that a target of 5.28 lakh acre kuruvai cultivation has been fixed, including 1.95 lakh acre in Thanjavur, 1.75 lakh acre in Tiruvarur, 97,500 acre in Mayiladuthurai and 61,000 acre in Nagapattinam.
As favourable conditions prevailed, the farmers who used to take up early kuruvai cultivation commenced across the region with the support of groundwater from April.
Accordingly, 80,000 acres are covered in Thanjavur, 25,700 acres in Tiruvarur and 50,000 acres in Mayiladuthurai district and with the water through river irrigation after the release from Grand Anicut, the farmers are optimistic to achieve a bumper harvest this year too.
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