Pokkali samithi urges officials to protect paddy land

Kochi: Pokkali conservation committee has expressed concern that amending the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act to allow taluk-level officials to give permission for paddy field conversion will lead to reclamation of remaining fields too.
Instead, a survey should be done to protect the remaining watershed areas as such a move is not just a threat to food security but freshwater resources, environment, and employment.There are several studies by Kerala Agricultural University citing that an acre of pokkali farm stores three lakh litres of rainwater annually and disrupting this process will expose groundwater resources to salinity.
“We want the govt to withdraw its order authorizing taluk-level officials to fill waterbodies, which will harm farmers, farm workers, and agriculture,” said committee coordinator Francis Kalanthunkal.
Meanwhile, a few farmers from Maruvakkad padasekharam at Chellanam have written to district collector and agriculture officer, Chellanam Krishi Bhavan, stating that every year they are struggling to produce paddy due to lack of support from officials who are supporting the fish lobby.
“Over the past several years, our attempts to successfully harvest paddy have been repeatedly frustrated because of non-regulation of water level by authorities concerned and office-bearers of Maruvakkad Padasekharam Samithi. This annual futile exercise is incurring heavy financial losses for me in the form of expenses for preparation of fields, procuring viable seeds,, etc.,” said Chandu Manjaparambil, a pokkali farmer.