Farm songs to make waves in Rani kayal fields again

Agriculture Minister will launch sowing operations at Kuttanad today after a span of two decades

October 20, 2016 12:00 am | Updated December 02, 2016 10:26 am IST - ALAPPUZHA:

Rani kayal fields, situated about 3 meters below sea level, have a history of paddy farming taken up by farmers and workers braving heavy odds.

Rani kayal fields, situated about 3 meters below sea level, have a history of paddy farming taken up by farmers and workers braving heavy odds.

The Rani kayal fields in Kuttanad will turn green again after a span of over two decades. Paddy farming is set to be taken up in the fields situated below sea level. Minister for Agriculture V.S. Sunil Kumar will launch the sowing operations on Thursday.

Bunds strengthened

For taking up farming, the outer bunds of the Rani and Chithira kayal fields were strengthened, spending over Rs.24 lakh. The 13th Finance Commission had allocated Rs.3.69 crore for reviving farming in the kayal fields, under Kuttanad Package.

An amount of Rs.90 lakh had been spent on extending power connection to the kayal fields, with a view to facilitating pumping of water for farming operations.

While paddy farming was relaunched in Chithira kayal a year ago, the plans for reviving agriculture in Rani kayal had to be postponed owing to technical reasons.

Mr. Sunil Kumar had visited the kayal fields after assuming charge as Agriculture Minister and extended support to take up farming this year. A committee was formed with District Collector Veena N. Madhavan as chairperson, Principal Krishi Officer A.G. Abdul Kareem as convener and padasekhara samithi representatives and officials as members, to facilitate relaunching of operations.

Farming operations had not been taken up in Rani kayal since 1992. Of the 210 hectares, an area of 139 hectares is under the possession of 570 landowners, according to officials.

The Rani, Chithira, Marthandam and R Block kayal fields, situated about 3 metre below sea level, have a history of paddy farming taken up by farmers and workers braving heavy odds.

Bunds were set up initially by fixing wooden poles in the lake and flushing out or letting in of water as per requirement was done by means of ‘chakram,’ a wooden device with flaps that could be manually rotated.

Stories of grit

Guarding against breaches of bunds, especially during monsoon and floods, used to pose challenges which had been tackled effectively thanks to the grit and prowess of the workforce.

It was at the instance of Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, ruler of erstwhile Travancore, that a farmer, Thomman Joseph, known as Murikkan, led the trendsetting reclamation of Vembanad Lake for paddy cultivation, with a view to overcoming scarcity of foodgrains. Over 1,800 acres of kayal fields were reclaimed under the initiative then.

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