Paddy crop in Palakkad district withering away
Standing paddy crop in thousands of acres in Palakkad district has started withering in the warm sun, thanks to the failure of the State government in getting a backlog of 8.82 tmc ft of water from Tamil Nadu at the Manacadavu weir for the Chitturpuzha irrigation scheme under the inter-State Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement. The paddy crop is getting ripe in Chittur and the farmers are badly in need of water for a month. If the water scarcity continues, it will not be possible for farmers to take up the second crop in vast areas of Chittur taluk. This will be a big blow to the efforts of the State government to ensure food security in the State, officials say. Also, there will be an acute shortage of drinking water in many parts of the district. Under the agreement, Tamil Nadu has to release 7.25 tmc feet of water at Manacadavu every year for irrigation in Chittur taluk. But on many occasions, the neighbouring State has failed to do so.During this water year ending June, Tamil Nadu released 7.07 tmc ft till last week. Kerala has asked for 300 mc ft for March and 250 mc ft for April though there is no allotment of water in these two months under the agreement. So far Kerala has been managing its summer requirements by getting a part of the backlog and the annual share of 7.25 tmc ft. But this time Tamil Nadu has refused to give the backlog on the ground that the PAP agreement does not say anything about backlog. Also, Tamil Nadu says that this year there is a 30 per cent fall in yield owing to the failure of the northeast monsoon. Kerala has agreed to consider reducing 3.5 tmc ft of water that Tamil Nadu released during the rainy season though the State did not require water then. Kerala's storage facility for the PAP waters — the dams of Parambikulam, Aliyar, Sholayar, etc. — are under the control of Tamil Nadu though these have been constructed in Kerala.Joint Water Regulation Board officials say that Tamil Nadu can provide Kerala the water it requires to save the standing crop by releasing some water from the Upper Aliyar and the Kadampara dams to the Aliyar dam. It can also release some water from the 6 tmc ft stored in the Parambikulam dam.
The Hindu, 23rd February 2009
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