Delta farmers rejoice as moderate showers will be a boon to samba

Delta farmers have claimed that the moderate showers have instilled hope in them about the prospects of a good Samba this time. It has also helped to recharge the Kallanai canal, Uyyankondan extension and the new Kattalai canal where water had not reached earlier.

The rain is also beneficial in cultivating Samba in the tail end areas of Grand Anaicut canal like Peravurani, Sethubavachathiram.

Similarly the cultivation has picked up in Sengippatti area which uses the water from the New Kattalai High Level channel and Uyyakkondan extension canal.

So, it is expected the coverage would surpass the normal area and may reach the target, say officials. In Thanjavur district the normal area of Samba paddy coverage is 1.06 lakh hectares and with a view to offsetting the shortfall in Kuruvai coverage, the target for this year both in Samba and Thaladi crop has been fixed at 1.32 lakh hectare while cultivation has already been covered in an area of 1.15 lakh hectare. Similarly in Tiruvarur district, the rain has helped to surpass the normal samba coverage.

The normal Samba coverage in Tiruvarur district has been 1.48 lakh hectares and the target for this year was fixed as 1.62 lakh hectares.