Cultivators mull dropping early samba

TIRUCHY: The delta farmers have decided to postpone samba cultivation and quit early samba this year and wait for the government assurance of adequate water for cultivation.

“As the government is not able to ensure water even for saving the standing kuruvai, we are dejected and decided to quit the early samba cultivation and wait for the monsoon rains to take a call,” said Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

The samba cultivation would usually commence in the last week of August for which the fields have to be made ready. Samba cultivation would be undertaken in an area of around 13 lakh acres across the Delta, for which water availability is very essential during the months of July, August and September. “Since the water storage has been depleting in the Mettur for the past few weeks, there is a doubt whether kuruvai would be successful this year. The available water in Mettur would be used just for a couple of days and so we have decided to wait till the government gives us a positive nod to go ahead on samba cultivation,” Vimalnathan said.

As the farmers are sceptical of undertaking samba and doubtful about successful kuruvai, demands are made that the Union government should declare the Delta as drought hit region. “The failure in harvest would not only affect the farmers but also several lakhs of agricultural labourers. If the region has been declared as drought hit, the farmers as well as the agriculture labourers would benefit out of such a decision,” Vimalnathan added.

Kuruvai cultivation has started to wither away in several places in the region owing to poor supply of water, said PR Pandian, the president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers Association.