Around the time water release commenced from Kallanai or the Grand Anicut on Friday evening, Arupathy P. Kalyanam, a veteran farmer leader residing in a village about 120 km from the Chola-era structure, felt relieved. “After four years, I am going to get water for irrigation in my village channel, Pudupazhan Kaveri,” he says, adding that the water course was cleared of silt this time. “I get water only in those years when desilting is done,” said the farmer, who is the general secretary of the Federation of Farmers’ Associations in the Cauvery Delta Districts.
Farmers across the delta region are in a similar mood. They appreciate the Tamil Nadu government for having advanced the date of water discharge from the Mettur dam for irrigation of the delta from June 12 to May 24 this year. According to V. Sathyanarayanan, general secretary, Consortium of Cauvery Delta Farmers, “Ordinarily, the yield of paddy during the cultivation season of kuruvai is higher than that of samba. This time, it will be much higher than the normal level, thanks to the improved photosynthetic efficiency.”
Encouraged by the increase in the coverage of 1.69 lakh acres and the eventual accomplishment of 4.9 lakh acres last year during the kuruvai season, the government has increased the coverage for 2022-23 by about 32,000 acres, putting the coverage at 5.22 lakh acres. As much as 4,91,200 acres will be covered in seven districts and the remaining 30,800 acres in the districts of Cuddalore and Ariyalur.
