Failure of the monsoons has wreaked havoc in the lives of farmers in the Cauvery delta It is almost mid-day, and the sun is harsh. But that does not deter Kaliaperumal of Melamanganallur, who is waiting to be picked up for daily wage labour under the NREGA scheme. The village is in the Cauvery delta, also known as the rice belt. When the vehicle arrives, the farmer in his early sixties is not picked up. Since January, Kaliaperumal's five-acre farm has been lying barren. “No power, no rain, no water, no money and no food,” he says. His two sons have left the village to work at a construction site in Thanjavur. At a time when the region is facing a drought-like condition, the NREGA scheme is the only hope for Kaliaperumal. “Though they say 0135 per day, we get a paid 080 a day,” he says. “I can run my family if I get work for at least 10 days in a month.” The intensity of the drought is evident in the fact that Pillayar Lake, Melamanganallur's only source of drinking water, has now become a volleyball court. “What else do we do? No water, no work,” says 13-year-old Kathir Ganesan, who doesn't go to school, as his father could not pay the fees this year. The drought has played havoc with the livelihood of small farmers in the 12 districts of the Cauvery delta. The area of cultivation has reportedly shrunk from 11 lakh hectares in 2005 to seven lakh hectares in 2012. On the outskirts of Tiruchy, a few hundred kilometres from Thanjavur, the banana crop, which supports at least 80,000 farmers in Tamil Nadu, has been hit by the failure of the monsoon. In Tirunelveli, south of the Cauvery river basin, only 628 hectares of the 19,000 hectares were cultivated. In Cuddalore, the paddy fields have completely gone dry and coconut trees have failed to produce yield. The water level in Bhavanisagar dam, the primary source of water for more than 2.34 lakh acres in Erode, Tirupur and Karur districts, has dropped to 30.16ft from 105ft. Public Works Department Minister K.V. Ramalingam and his colleague Thoppu Venkatachalam, on instructions from Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, performed special yagnas at Bhavanisagar dam for appeasing the rain god. “We strongly believe that the state will experience good rainfall,” says Ramalingam. Apparently, 050,000 was spent on the yagna. The normal area of cropping in the delta is 3,40,000 acres, if the rainfall is normal and water flows from the Cauvery river. This includes all three seasonal paddy crops—Kuruvai, Samba and Thaladi—and pulses. But because of power cuts and lack of water, Kuruvai, the short-term paddy crop, was grown only in 42,000 hectares, far less than the usual 1,62,000 hectares. The Samba crop, which is usually sown in June, was not grown this year. “Kuruvai crop yield usually gives up to 01,000 crore in a year. Together, the production loss for Kuruvai and Samba will touch 02,000 crore this year,” says Arupathy Kalyanam, general secretary, federation of farmers association in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur districts. Drilling borewells is not a viable option, thanks to heavy power cuts. According to a report by the Indian meteorological department, Tamil Nadu has seen a 57 per cent deficit in normal rainfall for the month of June. The state has received only 18.5mm of rainfall, while the normal range is 40-42mm. At present, the authorities are releasing only bare minimum (1,200 cubic feet per second) from the Mettur dam, to meet requirements of drinking water and industry. The dam's storage was about 36.8 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) in the first week of August, with an inflow of 344 cusecs. But, what is worrying farmers is that the PWD is contemplating opening the Mettur dam for irrigation only in September to help grow the Samba crop. “Usually by the end of September we would have raised Samba to a height of 3ft, so that it can withstand the flood during the northeast monsoon in November. But this year, we have no option, but to go for direct sowing,” says Kalyanam, a farmer. However, S. Ranganathan, general secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association, is hopeful that the farmers will not be forced to go in for direct sowing of Samba. If there are heavy rains in the catchment of the Kabini, which is in Kerala, the Mettur dam will get substantial flow. Ranganathan recalls the 1987 drought when the concept of direct sowing was experimented successfully by Y. Sul Karunai of Madappuram village near Thiruthuraipoondi taluk. He suggests that the crop variety—CR 1009 or Savitri—be used in the present situation. These seeds can be left in situ and will remain intact for 45 days even if the rains are delayed till then. But even in direct sowing, says Kalyanam, weeding becomes very difficult and the yield is less, compared with the usual cropping pattern. He complains that the officials in the agriculture department do not do anything to help them now. “The agriculture department office in Thiruvarur is always locked,” says Chandru, 42, who owns four acres in Melamanganallur. “They used to visit us to assist us in weed management and advise on fertiliser usage. It is ages since we have met them. We sowed urad dal last February, but rats destroyed the crop. We were not able to pay even the daily labour to clean up our lands.” Many farmers are now realising that they can no longer depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Says Nedunchezhian, a farmer in Moovur village near Kattumannarkudi taluk: “We have lost the inclination for agriculture because we are not sure of getting back the money we invest in it. Instead of spending money and losing the crop, it is better to keep the land uncultivated.” His two sons are working as carpenters in Cuddalore. The public works department has its set of woes. “There used to be 150 irrrigation inspectors in the delta region alone. But now 135 posts are vacant,” says a senior official in the PWD. Owing to the understaffing, the PWD could not deliver what the farmers needed. Though farmers were happy when the AIADMK government announced the free cattle scheme, the lack of fodder is worrying them, says Rasathi of Vanchiyur village near Thiruvarur, who sold three of her 10 milch cows in June. Dry run l The area of cultivation in the Cauvery delta has reportedly shrunk from 11 lakh hectares in 2005 to seven lakh hectares in 2012 l The state has received only 18.5mm of rainfall, while the normal range is 40-42mm l Thanks to the failure of the monsoon, the production loss for Kuruvai and Samba crop might touch 02,000 crore