Several parts of the Cauvery delta received heavy to moderate showers on Monday night after Sunday’s heavy rainfall in many parts of the region.
Widespread inundation and lodging of standing samba/ thaladi paddy crop was reported in Mayiladuthurai district. Lodging of crops, ready for harvest, was reported in some parts of other delta districts too.
Velankanni in Nagapattinam district recorded the maximum rainfall of 6 cm in the region during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday. Thirupoondi in Nagapattinam district, Mayiladuthurai, Lower Anicut and Ayyampettai in Thanjavur district and Needamangalam in Tiruvarur district recorded 4 cm of rainfall. Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Nannilam in Tiruvarur district, Budalur and Madukkur in Thanjavur district registered 3 cm of rainfall during the same period. Several other parts of the delta region, including Ariyalur district, received moderate rainfall.
On Tuesday, the sky remained overcast across the region, with slight showers being reported from some places.
Meanwhile, farmers who had gone for early samba crop were worried as the rains had come at the harvest stage. Paddy crop on about 40,000 acres, which were on the verge of being harvested in Mayiladuthurai district, have been inundated, according to initial estimates. Samba/thaladi crop had been raised on about 1,70,000 acres in the district.
Sources in the Agriculture Department said that the crop, if lodged, at the harvest stage could germinate if the water did not drain within a couple of days. Steps had been taken to drain the water from paddy fields wherever possible. However, the extent of damage to the crop would be known only after the water drained from the fields, the sources added.
In Nagapattinam district, official sources said that samba/thaladi crop had been raised on about 1.60 lakh acres and the crop in most places were almost withering a week ago for want of water. The heavy rainfall over the past few days would be beneficial for relatively young crop sowed late. But crop which were more than 100 days old had lodged on an extent of about 1,000 acres in some parts of the district, the sources said.
Lodging of crop at harvest stage has been reported in parts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur district too.
