Cauvery Delta Farmers Face Water Shortage as Groundwater Depletes and Power Supply Is Cut

Farmers in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta are confronting a triple crisis: rapidly falling groundwater levels, rising groundwater salinity, and the continued non‑release of water from the Mettur dam. An intense heatwave has accelerated evaporation, and the state electricity board (Tangedco) reduced the free power supply for irrigation pumps from 18 to 14 hours, limiting farmers' ability to draw groundwater.

Kuruvai paddy cultivation, normally spread over about one lakh acres in Thanjavur district and reliant on both groundwater and Cauvery releases, is now dependent solely on dwindling groundwater. In the Papanasam block alone, around 8,400 acres are under cultivation, with 2,000 acres already harvested. Farmers report increased salinity in villages such as Vellam Perambur and Allur Azhisikudi, and they have urged the Tamil Nadu government to release water before the Adi Perukku festival on August 3, though dam storage is only about 35 tmcft of its 93 tmcft capacity.