Surge in water flow from Kabini river gives glimmer of hope for Tamil Nadu farmers

THANJAVUR: The surge in water flow from the Kabini reservoir in Karnataka which reached around 35,000 cusecs on Friday gave a glimmer of hope for the Cauvery delta farmers who were upset over non-opening of water for Kuruvai cultivation.

They now hope for at least a successful single crop of the long-term Samba paddy.R Sukumaran of Kakkarai in Thanjavur district and state vice-president of federation of all farmers association said farmers are happy to hear the news that 35,000 cusecs has been released from Kabini. He pointed out the water would reach Mettur soon. "The Government should carefully monitor the situation and ensure water atleast for a single long term crop", he said.

He is of the opinion if short term crop was taken up after the end of June, it would be affected during monsoon season.P Kalaivanan, the office bearer of Senior Agro technologists forum of Thanjavur chapter concurs with Sukumaran's point of view. "If farmers start Kuruvai sowing in July, the crop would be affected during the monsoon period as then that would be in the flowering stage", he points out.He said the Kuruvai paddy could be taken up only if the water was released from Mettur before June 20 and he points out there would be no possibility for the same as the storage in Mettur dam is very low at present."The meteorological department had predicted a break in the South-West monsoon and the next spell would be only from the June last week", he points out.

Even if water was released before June 20, there would be a demand of 140 TMC of water till September end. He also said no variety could be sown during July-August 15 as such crop would have to face adverse climate condition as they would be in flowering stage when the North East monsoon would be on peak in November-December and the pollen would be washed away. Hence it would be wise to open the Mettur dam around August 20 for the successful cultivation of a single samba crop, he reasoned. Sundara Vimalnathan of Swamimalai and secretary of Thanjavur District Cauvery farmers protection association also points out the Mettur dam should be opened only when it reaches 80 feet. "If water is released before that it would go waste", he added.

PS Masilamani, the state Deputy secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Union and a farmer from Tiruvarur said the dam should be opened only when the level reaches 70 feet with a steady inflow. If the condition was achieved and the dam was opened before June end, there would be a possibility of cultivating short-term varieties, he says.

Mannargudi S Ranganathan, the General Secretary of Cauvery delta farmers association expressed happiness over increasing outflow from Kabini and said whatever be the attitude of Karnataka Government the God/nature is always with the Tamil Nadu. He pointed out though the Krishna Raja Sagar is about to achieve the full level, the Karnataka Government has been releasing only 200 cusecs which shows their attitude. "The riparian states (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) should not only share the distress but also the surplus of water.

So that in case we get store the extra water for future use", he added. The veteran farmer also said the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) should take into account that just like the Tamil Nadu reservoirs in Tamil Nadu have its own rules and regulations on operation during season and non-season, there should be rules for Karnataka reservoirs. "As of now they are operating the reservoirs on the whims and fancies of the politicians", he added.