Farmers in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district have begun destroying their standing samba paddy crops — ploughing them back into the soil using tractors — after an acute irrigation shortage devastated cultivation across villages near Melattur. The distress has triggered protests and urgent demands for government compensation, with cultivators warning of a siege on the District Collector's office if authorities fail to act.

Scale of the Crop Damage

Approximately 1,000 acres of samba paddy under cultivation in Ranganathapuram and adjacent areas near Melattur have been severely affected. Farmers report that crops wilted and dried beyond recovery due to inadequate water supply, leaving cultivators with no viable option but to clear the dead plants mechanically and re-plough their fields at additional expense. According to the protesters, thousands of acres spanning Melattur, Ranganathapuram, Vilithiyur, Annappanpettai and surrounding villages have sustained damage from the prolonged shortage.

What Disrupted Irrigation Supplies

Protesters allege that inadequate storage levels at the Mettur reservoir were the primary cause of the irrigation disruption. Water was reportedly released from the dam only after an interval of 81 days, leaving samba paddy across the Cauvery delta without adequate supplies for an extended period. Groundwater, which farmers might ordinarily use as a backup, offered little relief — water drawn through pump sets was found to be saline and unsuitable for crop irrigation, closing off an important alternative to canal water.

Farmers' Demands and Protest Action

Affected cultivators entered their damaged fields to stage a demonstration, calling on government departments to visit the sites, assess the extent of crop loss, and arrange timely financial relief. The protesters specifically noted that neither the Agriculture Minister nor senior officials had visited the affected areas to inspect the damage. Farmers said the losses represented an entire season's effort — both in labour and input costs — and that they were now bearing additional expenditure to clear and re-plough destroyed fields. Their organisation has warned that a blockade of the District Collector's office will follow unless the authorities conduct a formal inspection and respond to compensation demands.

Broader Context: Cauvery Delta in Distress

This crisis is part of a recurring pattern in the Cauvery delta, where samba paddy cultivation is heavily dependent on regulated releases from the Mettur dam. The region has faced periodic water stress in previous seasons, with farmers frequently citing irregular release schedules and declining reservoir levels as central grievances. The combination of inadequate canal irrigation and saline groundwater creates a compounded vulnerability for cultivators, who have limited fallback options when seasonal supplies fall short. Notably, the absence of an official damage assessment has delayed any relief process, adding administrative delay to an already acute agrarian crisis.

What Happens Next

Farmers have set a clear deadline: unless government teams are deployed to assess crop losses and initiate compensation proceedings, protesters plan to intensify their agitation by blockading the District Collector's office. An official assessment is considered urgently necessary to establish the full scale of the damage and ensure cultivators in the affected villages receive relief before the season's losses compound further.