Two days of continuous rainfall has resulted in submergence of paddy crop raised in thousands of acres of land and in a 'ready for harvest' stage in the district.
The damage to the crop has pushed farmers into relying on insurance compensation to sustain their livelihood.
The submergence of the paddy field, farmers fear, will cause substantial loss in yield. They are trying hard to drain out the water stagnating in their fields. At some places, the harvested crop has got drenched. The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation does not procure paddy with high moisture content.
The paddy cultivators are a worried lot since compensation for the damage caused by an earlier spell of rainfall has not been paid so far.
The harvesting activity was in progress in Voimedu and other tail-end areas when the rainfall came unexpectedly, representatives of farmer welfare organisations said.
Villages in Kilvelur and Vedaranyam were the worst affected.
Former Textiles Minister O.S. Manian demanded immediate payment of compensation to fishermen and workers in salt pans that were inundated due to the latest wet spell.
Meanwhile, V. Rajaraman, Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, undertook a visit to a direct purchase centre at Nilapadi village in Kilvelur Panchayat Union on Sunday.
Accompanied by Collector A. Arun Thamburaj, Mr. Rajaraman said 156 DPCs had been opened in the district and procurement of paddy to the extent of 53,922 tonnes had been completed. The farmers had been paid ₹79.33 crore so far through online settlement.
The district administration had appointed 13 data entry operators to register details of farmers in the district, the Collector said.
