Heavy Rains In Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram Damage 25 Acres Of Paddy Crops

In an unfortunate development, the heavy rains on Sunday night and Monday have swamped large tracts of paddy crops in several villages in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. The tail-end Delta region of the district saw 25 acres of paddy crops being submerged and damaged. The crops were ready to harvest and would have yielded huge profits for the farmers. Given the heavy rain, the district administration of Villupuram declared a holiday for schools and colleges in the region. As per the details shared by the official sources, the heavy rains also affected the Chidambaram region, located in Cuddalore district. Reportedly, paddy fields in over 25 villages in various blocks including Kattumannarkovil, Kumaratchi, and Chidambaram were ready for harvest. They were completely submerged after the rainfall.

Chidambaram received a maximum of 228.8 mm of rainfall that began on Sunday night and ended at 8.30 am on Monday. Bhuvanagiri recorded 189 mm. The Hindu reported that Marakkanam in Villupuram district recorded 133 mm on the same days, whereas Vanur recorded 120 mm of rainfall. On the other hand, 86 mm of rain were recorded in Villupuram and Koliyanur districts, resulting in an inundation of crops ready for harvest.

A farmer named Palani, while speaking with Local 18, informed that he spent around Rs 27,000 to grow rice crops in around 25 acres of land which has been completely washed off due to the ongoing heavy rains. He said, “The 25 acres of rice crops that were ready to be harvested for the Pongal festival have been submerged in water. Due to this we have suffered huge losses.” Given the huge loss caused due to rain, the farmer demanded the district administration to take some initiative to support him and others.

KV Elangeeran, president of Cauvery Delta Farmers Federation, informed, “Over 7,000 acres of paddy crop have been completely submerged in rainwater across Cuddalore district. Farmers are worried over the fate of the standing crops that were ready for harvest. The extent of crop damages would be known only after water starts receding from the fields.”