Should farmers of Cauvery delta have to go in for paddy cultivation during the Kuruvai season at all? What if they abandon Kuruvai ?
Experts, government officials as well as leaders of farmers are mulling these questions, given that for the fifth year in succession, the scheduled opening date of water from Mettur dam — June 12 — has been missed for want of water in the dam. Besides, the core constituents of Cauvery delta – Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts – are fast witnessing deterioration in their groundwater position. To give an illustration, one has to dig 300 ft in Thanjavur town, in the words of veteran geologist P.M. Natarajan, for a “sustainable bore well.” In many other places, the average groundwater level varies between 600 ft and 1,000 ft.
Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University K. Ramasamy is emphatic. “Give holiday for Kuruvai,” he says.
The Vice-Chancellor goes on to say that it is only after “deep reflection” that he wants to give this call to the Cauvery delta farming community, which he says is quick to grasp changing realities. He adds that he is making this suggestion based on “sound reasons”.
Salinity intrusion is taking place in many parts of the delta and even in interior areas, say Vaduvur, that is about 20 km from Mannargudi. “I am coming across reports of the groundwater turning saline, which is extremely disturbing,” says Mr. Ramasamy.
The reasons are not far to seek. Power supply for farm pumpsets is given free of cost. Hence, there is no compulsion for farmers to take seriously power supply or drawing excess groundwater.
Saving for Samba
Echoing Mr. Ramasamy’s view, S. Ranganathan, general secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, says: “Let us conserve water for the Samba season when it is an open secret that the groundwater table is going down steeply.” During Samba, paddy is raised over a period of 150 days (July/August to December/January). More importantly, it provides livelihood to a large number of landless labourers, he points out.
But, Agriculture Minister R. Doraikannu, who hails from Papanasam of Thanjavur district, strongly defends the practice of paddy cultivation during Kuruvai. “You will have to keep the farmers engaged with productive work. This is why encouragement is given to them to raise paddy.”
The Minister says the Kuruvai package of assistance has been worked out, taking into consideration the forecast of the Meteorological department that the southwest monsoon will yield more rainfall this year than in the previous year. “We are providing assistance to farmers for growing pulses too.”
A senior official in his department says that the support to Kuruvai means that “you are supporting 1.2 lakh families” in rural Tamil Nadu.
Besides, one cannot gloss over the season’s contribution to food security in the State. However, a leading trader, D. Thulasingam, says that with the free movement of paddy or rice across the country, the absence of paddy cultivation during Kuruvai will not make any difference. But, he justifies the government’s support to the farmers as “ it is a matter of livelihood” to the farming community.
Neighbour’s advice
Another government official says Karnataka has been arguing for years that Tamil Nadu should give up Kuruvai. But, it is only during this season that the yield is higher and the farmers get income at the time of Navaratri or Deepavali festival.
