A team of farmers from Kuttanad led by Kuttanad Development Council (KDC) chairman Fr. Thomas Peeliyanickal visited the Aranmula Puncha on Wednesday as part of preparations for restarting paddy cultivation in the fields.
Fr. Peeliyanickal said the KDC would arrange farming machines and expert guidance to the peasants in Aranmula for re-launching farming in the fields that have been lying fallow for the past few years due to prolonged water-logging. The weeds accumulated in the fields should be removed as soon as the ongoing Karimaramthodu stream restoration work is completed.
Fr. Peeliyanickal said scientists from the Soil Research Institute at Mankombu in Alappuzha district would be brought to Aranmula to conduct a study on the change in soil structure, if any, at Aranmula Puncha
due to prolonged water-logging and its implications on paddy crop. He said a study on the traditional varieties of paddy used for cultivation in the Aranmula Puncha too should be carried out.
The boundaries of the cluster of paddy fields in the Puncha should be demarcated with the help of village records prior to launching of cultivation.
Fr. Peeliyanickal said a joint meeting of all farmers and farm workers in Aranmula would be convened soon to discuss the suggestions for reviving cultivation in the Puncha. As many as 30 experts from Kuttanad would speak on different types of paddy cultivation suitable for Aranmula at the meet.
He said the Aranmula Anti-airport Coordination Committee (AACC) and the KDC would seek the help of experts attached to the Paddy Research Centre at Mankombu for reviving paddy cultivation in the Puncha.
The KDC team comprised Gopalakrishnan Muttar, K.V. Mohanan, Agasti Ramankari, and Sunny Muttar, all leaders of various Padashekhara Samitis in Kuttanad. AACC leaders R. Sreeranganathan, Shaji Chacko, P.P.Chandrashekharan Nair, M.M. Daniel, G.Vijayan, and Ramakrishna Pillai accompanied the team to different parts of the Puncha.
