Desilting work, Mettur dam opening reasons for increase in kuruvai coverage: Officials

Another major reason attributed to the increase in total area of cultivation is the opening of Mettur dam on the customary date of June 12.

“Public Works Department (PWD) desilted all the A and B type channels while the C and D channels were desilted under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) which facilitated supply till the tail end of the Delta region”, said officials.

Officials further said that after eight years water from Mettur dam had been opened for Kuruvai cultivation which had helped greatly in the increase in acerage. Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme also played a role in increase in acerage to a great extent, said officials. “Totally 270 revenue villages Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruchy were covered under the insurance scheme which also helped in increasing the acreage by 1.03 lakh acres”, said officials.

For the first time in last 30 years, Kuruvai acreage in Delta has touched a record 3.87 lakh acres.

Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, state government ensured adequate stock of kuruvai seeds to meet any demand. Kuruvai paddy crops are characterised by short harvest period when compared to the samba.

However, officials fear that the situation might not be the same next year as Karnataka’s Krishnaraja Sagar Dam, from where the Mettur dam gets the supply, had not received sufficient quantum from its upper stream in this ongoing monsoon season till recently.