Vaigai water inundates paddy crops

Unchecked wild growth in riverbed causes damage: farmers

Paddy farmers of three villages near here fear rot of standing crop following inundation of their fields due to overflow of water from the Vaigai.

Farmers claimed that crops on hundreds of acres in Thoruvalur, Thavarankulam, Pappakudi and Idaithangi have been submerged for over a week now.

A. Ramu, 42, a farmer, said that 45-days of paddy crop was under water for nearly10 days and he is not confident that the crops could be saved. He had raised the crop on three acres through direct sowing and has spent over ₹ 20,000 till date.

“Several rounds of ploughing, three bags of seeds, fertilizer and wages of farm hands have been drained by the stagnant water,” he said. While the crop was just around one inch above the farm, the land has been submerged in ankle-deep water.

P. Muniyaraj, another farmer, who holds a small piece of land, complained that all his hard work and investment on cultivation has gone waste.

The farmers complained that overflowing water from the Vaigai had inundated the low-lying areas.

“The unchecked wild growth of Prosopis Juliflora on the riverbed has caused the damage to the crops,” said Mr. Muniyaraj.

Joint Director of Agriculture, Tom P. Silas, who inspected the affected areas on Thursday, exuded confidence that the crops could be saved if the water gets drained in the next two days.

Stating that the water has submerged the fields to the extent of around 110 acres in three villages, he said that most of the farmers had registered their crops under the crop insurance scheme.

Farmers said that they could not go for another paddy crop in December as they would not get adequate rain for raising the crop in the coming days.

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