The farmers under the Vakayad Padashekharam in Panamaram grama panchayat of Wayanad district were relieved when they received good monsoon rains by the middle of July.
As usual the farmers started to prepare paddy nurseries to transplant plants on 148 acres of land owned by 98 farmers, including 20 tribalpeople in the area.
But the incessant rainfall since then has dampened their spirits as all the paddy nurseries were destroyed in the flood.
However, the farmers in the area have got a new lease of life now, thanks to the timely intervention of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) Wayanad district committee.
“When the hill district was devastated by flood and landslips recently the members of the organisation contributed nearly ₹2 lakh to the KSSP district committee as a relief fund,” K.T. Sreevalsan, convener, environmental sub committee, KSSP said.
A sum of ₹50,000 was handed over to Meppadi grama panchayat for relief work in Puthumala area, where a landslip claimed the lives of 12 persons and five persons still missing in the debris of the landslide.
Though the farmers in general category have been cultivating paddy every year in their agricultural land, the tribal farmers have kept their 13 acres of paddy field fallow for the past one decade owing to financial problems.
Timely aid
However, the KSSP bore all the expenses of tribal farmers and agreed to bear the expenses for preparing 148 acres of land for cultivation by using tractor with the technical advice of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Mr. Sreevalsan said.
At a time when the farmers in the area were facing hardships, the KSSP had lent a helping hand to the farming community, said A.K. Mohanan. secretary of the padashekhara samiti.
O.R. Kelu, MLA, inaugurated the paddy sowing festival near Panamaram on Saturday.