Farmers demand release of Cauvery water to save withering crops

TIRUCHY: Thanjavur farmers have appealed for the release of Cauvery water from Mettur to save the withering samba and thalady crops in the region.

The farmers put forth their demands at the grievances redressal meeting held in Thanjavur chaired by the district collector Deepak Jacob on Friday. The participating farmers told the collector that the samba and thalady crops have started to wither away due to a poor supply of Cauvery water. They brought withered crops as proof and showed them to the collector and demanded to release water from Mettur as the monsoon rains were not adequate.

The farmers pointed out that the Mettur water level stood at 70 feet on Friday which is adequate to release water for irrigation. They said that the waterbodies in Pattukkottai and Peravurani in the district had dried up and the water from Mettur could be stored for utilisation during further days to save the crops, they said.

The farmers charged that the renovation works at the GA canal are at a snail’s pace and asked the district collector to order the officials to speed up the works. They also demanded proper retaining walls along the GA canal.

A few farmers said that the cooperative banks make an unusual delay in releasing crop loans to those who had undertaken samba cultivation and this leads the farmers to approach the private money lenders for a hefty interest. The farmers demanded an uninterrupted three-phase power supply as they were dependent on electricity for cultivation.