Thrissur: Palakkad, one of the major rice producing areas in the state, is staring at the worst drought in recent times. As per a study conducted by the agricultural department, out of the 43,000 hectares of paddy fields in the district, 6,050 hectare have been affected by drought this season. Palakkad principal agricultural officer G Sudarsanan said, “The report shows, Alathur, Kuzhalmannam, Malampuzha, Nenmara, Chittur and Kollangode blocks have severely been affected. The estimated loss in paddy cultivation due to drought is Rs 24.13 crore this season.” There are around 75,000 farmers in the district who cultivate various vegetables, beside paddy, on 58,000 hectares of land. The estimated loss in total agriculture cultivation in the district till now is Rs 32.64 crore, said Sudarsanan. “The total estimated loss in the second crop season is expected to touch Rs 84 crore in Palakkad district,” he added. Farmers in the district depend on water from irrigation projects in seven dams. But as a result of decreasing water level in the dams, the quantity of water released for agriculture purpose has also got reduced. Seven dams, including Malampuzha, provided 353.23mmcube water to irrigate 47,000 hectares of agriculture land last year. But this year, it has come to 291.196 mmcube water to irrigate 34,300 hectares of land. Malampuzha dam authorities had informed agriculture officers that they could provide only 145mmcube water to irrigate 12,000 hectares of land for 55 days. They have started providing water on November 16 last year. Farmers in Chittur taluk and two panchayats (Pulpully and Peruvambu) depend mainly on water from Aliyar. As per the agreement between Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments, Tamil Nadu should release 7tmc of water to Kerala. But, they have released only 4tmc so far. Palakkad MP M B Rajesh said, “The state government failed to get water from Aliyar as per the agreement. Tamil Nadu is saying that there is not enough water to release to Kerala. That is not true as they have been releasing water through Pondur canal to Tamil Nadu. We will try to bring the drought issue in the state to the notice of central government.” Kerala Karshaka Sangam district secretary P K Sudhakaran said, “We have been demanding compensation of Rs 30,000 per acre for each drought-affected farmer. The government is providing only Rs 10,000 now. The government should also give fertilizers and good quality seeds to farmers free of cost in the next crop season”.