Farmers say open Mettur dam to save 1,000 acres of paddy

TIRUCHY: While a majority of farmers have been demanding to release water from Mettur dam twice before June 12, a section of ryots from Tiruvaiyaru, who witnessed the crops dying due to water scarcity, have been struggling to rescue the standing crops with the meagre support of the borewell borrowed from neighbouring farmlands.

The Mettur reservoir was opened last year on May 24, much ahead of the customary date of June 12 and was closed on January 28. However, the kuruvai harvest was delayed due to unseasonal rainfall, which further delayed the cultivation of samba and thalady, this year.

In such a situation, crops in around 1,000 acres in Thingalur, Perumpuliyur, Tillaisthanam, Rayapettai, Karukkudy and Eachankudy villages around Tiruvaiyaru started withering due to water shortage. Several lands appeared parched and farmers have been running from pillar to post to save the crops in maximum area that they could.

“Since there was no water, the 100-day-old crop in the region have started to wither away. Recently, the unseasonal rains damaged the crops but now, the extreme heat has left the lands parched. Only solution to save the crops is to release water from Mettur at least for two weeks,” said Rajesh, a farmer from Thingalur village.

He said that several farmers have been borrowing water from the nearby borewell owner for a price. “Already we are spending up to Rs 35,000 per acre and the money spent for water results in more burden. So, the state government should release water as soon as possible to rescue us from loss,” Rajesh added.