Heavy rain spoils harvest-ready paddy crops across Cauvery delta districts

TIRUCHY: Farmers are in distress as heavy rains battered the Cauvery delta region and damaged the ready-for-harvest paddy in several places.

The summer crop cultivation was ongoing across the Cauvery delta region particularly in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, and Nagapattinam from February 1. The usual acreage in Thanjavur is 37,500 acres. However, due to poor groundwater storage since October 2023 the cultivation was undertaken in an area of 31,500 acres this year.

However, the farmers from Papanasam, Kumbakonam, Tiruvidaimarudur, Thirupananthal, Ammapettai, Thanjavur, and Orathanadu undertook summer crop cultivation with the support of groundwater. However, the farmers could not irrigate the field through the bore wells due to an unscheduled power cut.

Meanwhile, the sudden heavy rains from the third week of May damaged the crops in the flowering stage in places like Thanjavur, Ammapettai, Orathanadu, and Thiruvonam.

Irrespective of the damage, a few thousand acres of crops were protected and the harvest commenced in full swing.

The yield was affected because of the damage due to the sudden rainfall. Observing that the usual yield used to be 2400 kg of paddy per acre, the farmers estimated the yield to be only 1,800 kg of paddy per acre this year. The farmers said that the sudden rain along with the heavy wind, damaged around 2,000 acres of standing crops in Valamarkottai, Puthur, and Udayarkovil in Thanjavur and demanded compensation for the yield loss.