Overview
- Farmers in more than 20 villages around Thanjavur reported this week that irregular three-phase power has left electric borewell pumps idle and standing paddy wilting.
- The customary June release from Mettur Dam has not been announced because reservoir storage is below required levels, forcing many growers to depend on groundwater.
- Growers say they spent up to Rs 30,000 per acre on Vasantha paddy and many used loans, raising the risk of heavy financial losses if irrigation is not restored.
- Some farmers have begun using diesel pumps to keep fields wet, which sharply raises costs while small and marginal cultivators often cannot afford the fuel and leave fields unirrigated.
- Local leaders and cultivators have appealed to the Tamil Nadu government and electricity authorities for uninterrupted three-phase supply and urgent relief, and the PMK has called for 18-hour power and a per-acre input subsidy.