Samba paddy farmers in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts of Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta are seeking urgent drainage work after persistent northeast monsoon rain and blocked outlet canals left thousands of acres of young crop submerged, IANS reported on Tuesday, October 27.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Water has been standing in several fields for more than four days, and cultivators warned that another 48 hours of submergence could cause root rot and extensive losses unless the water is drained immediately, according to the farmers' account reported by IANS and carried by NewKerala.

Source: NewKerala (IANS)

Thanjavur and Tiruvarur villages under water

In Tiruvarur district, the affected areas named by farmers included Kudavasal, Asoor, Melapalayur and Ogai. In Thanjavur district, paddy fields at Vilangudi, Villiyanallur, Semmangudi and Tenkaichi also remained waterlogged.

Farmers attributed the continuing waterlogging to neglected outlet canals, saying rainwater had accumulated because silt and obstructions prevented its discharge. They appealed to district authorities to deploy heavy machinery to clear the clogged outlets and drain the fields, and sought long-term desilting of the canal network.

A season that started with too little water

The flooding follows a difficult start to the season, when insufficient river water forced farmers to postpone sowing by several weeks. Growers with borewell facilities later planted samba paddy despite the uncertainty, committing at least Rs 20,000 per acre - yaani twenty thousand rupees spent on every acre - before the monsoon downpours inundated the low-lying fields just as the seedlings began growing.

No district administration response or drainage timetable was reported in the accounts published on Tuesday morning. The farmers' warning is time-bound: on their account, the next two days will decide whether the young crop survives.