THANJAVUR
Paddy cultivated late during summer and ready for harvest now got submerged in water due to the latest spell of rain in Thiruvidaimaruthur and Thirukattupalli areas.
Farmers in Thiruvidaimaruthur and Thirukattupalli areas have taken up summer cultivation on about 100 acres and 50 acres, respectively. The paddy cultivated by them was ready for harvest. However, the sudden downpour witnessed in these areas resulted in the crop submerging in water as the drainage channels were not desilted properly.
Claiming that each farmer had spent around ₹20,000 per acre for cultivating paddy as summer crop, Selvagurunathan of Pazhingiyanallur in Thiruvidaimaruthur taluk said the 100 acres on which summer crop was cultivated got submerged in rainwater as the drainage channel in the region had several mounds on its bed obstructing the flow of the rainwater stagnated in the agriculture fields.
While Thiruvidaimaruthur taluk farmers were all set to lose their crop, a section of farmers in Thirukattupalli region were struggling to save the harvested paddy from getting soaked in rain.
Complaining that the paddy procurement process too was moving at a snail's pace, Sundaram of Ganapathi Agraharam said that the farmers were forced to stock the produce in open space near the Direct Procurement Centre.
Meanwhile, a group of youth from Arumulai and Vannipattu hamlets in Orathanadu block stepped into the Arumulai irrigation channel to clear the blockades on the channel to ensure the smooth flow of the water to irrigate around 4000 acres in this region.
Though sufficient quantity of water was being released into the Grand Anicut Canal for the past one and half months, the water flow in the Arumulai channel was hampered due to the presence of tree branches and weeds.
The youngsters after getting necessary permission from the Public Works Department officials cleared the tree branches and other weeds that had blocked the smooth flow of water in the Arumulai channel on Tuesday.