Tragedy struck as a 47-year-old farmer, Rajkumar, from Thiruvaimur village in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, passed away due to a heart attack. His family has attributed the distressing incident to Rajkumar’s overwhelming mental anguish caused by the failure of his crops due to a lack of water supply from the Cauvery River.
The allocation of Cauvery River water has long been a contentious issue, sparking conflicts between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, both vying for their perceived rightful share.
According to Rajkumar’s family, he had planted Kuruvai paddy using a direct seeding method on his land following the release of water from the Mettur Dam on June 12. The Kuruvai crops necessitate a continuous water supply for germination and maturation. Regrettably, Rajkumar’s farmland faced a shortage of water when the anticipated Cauvery water release did not materialise. In a desperate bid to nurture his crops, Rajkumar, along with fellow farmers, employed water pumps to transport water from several kilometers away. However, these efforts proved insufficient, and his farmland developed fissures just as the crops were reaching maturity.
Faced with the grim reality of crop failure, Rajkumar made the heart-wrenching decision to abandon his crops and prepare the land for the Samba cycle of cultivation, a long-term crop. This choice would necessitate further loans, which he was already struggling to repay.
Rajkumar had borrowed approximately ₹4 lakh from banks and an additional ₹3.5 lakh from alternate sources. Additionally, he had pawned his wife’s jewelry to secure financial support. “He was very depressed to see the dried crops and that was what led to his death,” lamented his family.
In response to the tragic incident, the Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, conveyed his condolences to Rajkumar’s family and criticised Chief Minister MK Stalin for his perceived failure to secure adequate Cauvery water. He demanded that the government provide ₹25 lakh as ex-gratia compensation to Rajkumar’s bereaved family.
BJP leader Annamalai also urged the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to demand the Karnataka Congress government to release Tamil Nadu’s rightful share of Cauvery water.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has expressed hopes of salvaging the standing Kuruvai paddy crops across the state by utilising Cauvery water released from Karnataka. As per a Supreme Court order, the Karnataka government is expected to release 5,000 cusecs of water per day until 27 September 2023.
DK Shivakumar, a Karnataka politician, asserted that the lives of Karnataka farmers were of utmost importance and raised concerns about releasing the entire 5,000 TMC water, suggesting that only 3,000 TMC could be released.
Meanwhile, DMK Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan told reporters that since there is water coming in Cauvery now, the Kuruvai crops can be ‘managed‘. On Karnataka not adhering to the order of Cavery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Supreme Court, the DMK Minister said that obeying the Supreme Court order is ethical and it is upto the Karnataka government whether they want to obey it or not.
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