Sivanandam of Moolakarai knows full well that he may not be third time lucky. He is already under heavy debts after raising samba paddy twice in vain due to the inundation caused due to the two spells of rainfall within a span of a month.
But that has not stopped him from procuring seedlings again from a farm in nearby Umbalachery. “Water is receding slowly from the fields, due to obstruction in the canals caused by the ubiquitous presence of prawn farms. But, my fervent hope is that there will not be any more rainfall and that the seedlings planted for the third time will survive,” he said.
The plight of Suriyamoorthy of Kannarinthankattalai is no better.
He had pledged his jewels, his last means for sourcing funds, for purchasing seedlings though his field is inundated.
Sheer desperation has forced many farmers in Avaraikadu, Andagathurai and Pranthiankarai to try out some means to salvage the crops.
Motor sets are visible at many fields in these villages, but there is no way to pump out the water what with the canals also flowing in full capacity.
The canals have, in fact, gone invisible under sheets of water.
The farmers are in a helpless situation and they exercise restraint in blaming the administration due to the rather unexpected recurrence of heavy spells of rainfall, though they would have been spared of all the difficulties had the administration desilted the pokku vaical, a major canal draining excess water into the sea.
They say their complaints over the years to the authorities about the increasing presence of prawn farms causing obstructions to the canals have gone unheeded.
According to a senior official of the Revenue department, the complaint about hindrance caused to prawn farms to the agricultural fields has been a persisting problem for long.
But, there is nothing much that the administration could do since the prawn farms are also supporting the rural economy.
The officials exuded hope that the water will recede in a matter of days with the assurance that obstructions in the Adapparu and Vellaiyaru has been cleared.
