Cattle grazing in the almost dry Perumkulam tank in Thoothukudi district.
| Photo Credit: N. RAJESH
Most of the 107 irrigation tanks in the district, including 54 non-systemised tanks and 53 systemised tanks, are bone dry now, leaving farmers, their cattle and birds that would usually camp in the forests near these waterbodies in the lurch.After the southwest and northeast monsoons let down the southern districts last year and this year, the farmers of Thoothukudi district, who solely rely upon water released from the Papanasam and Manimuthar dams for irrigation, are at a crossroads. While most farmers who raise banana and paddy with water from the Tamirabharani did not take the risk of planting crops, only a few having their ranches close to the irrigation tanks and canals took the calculated risk. Now, with the tanks almost dry, these farmers pump stagnant water from the tanks to their ranches to save the standing crops.“After the not-so-good ‘pisanam’ paddy season, most farmers did not want to take the risk during this ‘kar’ season as we were clear that the southwest monsoon would not be very promising this year, as predicted by the Meteorological Department. Hence, agricultural operations are very limited this year even along the Tamirabharani watercourse,” said farmer S. Ramesh of Pandaravilai.
