Mysuru: With the release of water from KRS and Kabini reservoirs to canals, paddy sowing gained momentum in the twin districts of Mysuru and Chamarajanagar.At the recently held Cauvery Irrigation Consultative Committee (ICC) meeting headed by water resources minister N Cheluvarayaswamy at Bengaluru, the members of the committee decided to release water to canals on an on-and-off basis in Cauvery River basin districts. The committee directed water to be released to canals in four rotational cycles.Farmers are sowing paddy in their fields, readying paddy seedlings and preparing the land for paddy seedling transplantation in the districts despite a warning to farmers to stop growing paddy this year.Mysuru district has targeted paddy cultivation on 86,000 hectares this year, and neighbouring Chamarajanagar district has targeted 23,000 hectares, but paddy sowing has been hit due to a delay in filling of KRS and Kabini reservoirs with water. In the previous years, as water was released early to canals when the dams were full, farmers sowed paddy early during the last week of June and in July, but this year paddy sowing took a beating in the crucial months of June and July in the two districts as the water levels were not up to the mark in KRS and Kabini dams.As the ICC announced the release of water into canals in four rotational cycles, paddy sowing gained momentum in the twin districts from the third week of Aug.Joint director of agriculture KH Ravi said that only farmers having an irrigation pumpset facility are taking up paddy sowing. “Water was released to canals only on an on-and-off basis to take up sowing of less water-intensive crops, and wide publicity was also given to farmers to stop growing paddy and extending sugarcane cultivation this year,” he said.On the other hand, the declining water levels in Kabini and KRS reservoirs due to the release of water to Tamil Nadu have become a major concern for farmers, mainly paddy growers of the region.The water level in KRS, which was maintained at 109 feet last week, has now reduced to 108.48 feet with poor inflow of water into the dam. The water level in Kabini reservoir of HD Kote taluk also declined to 2,273 feet on Sunday against 2,280 feet last week.Superintending engineer of Cauvery dam K Raghuram said that water was released from dams in four rotational cycles only to fill lakes with water, to take up short-term, less water-intensive crops and to save standing sugarcane and other crops.State Sugarcane Growers Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar said farmers who are sowing paddy now are likely to suffer crop damage as the ICC announced the release of water only for four rotation cycles on an on-and-off basis.As paddy is a 120-day cycle crop, farmers will suffer a loss if govt stops releasing water to canals after four rotation cycles, he said. “Kabini, KRS reservoirs maintained storage tanks only to release water to Tamil Nadu, but not to help farmers of Cauvery river basin districts of the state. The water that was released to canals was also linked to rivers to reach Tamil Nadu, but not to help state farmers,” Shanthakumar alleged.“Our association is planning to intensify our agitation from Monday to release water into canals to take up sowing paddy in all the Cauvery command area,” he said.
