Thirumittakkodu: Yet another monsoon has left the farmers of Thirumittakkodu in despair. Year after year, they watch their hopes drown with the rains and this season has been no different as the heavy downpour over the past two days has wreaked havoc on paddy cultivation across the region.

Seed-beds (njattadi) and paddy saplings in the vast fields of Rayamangalam, Nellikkattiri, Cherippoor, and Thirumittakkodu, all under the Thirumittakkodu Krishi Bhavan, now lie submerged under sheets of rainwater.

Runoff water gushing into the fields has worsened the damage. Both the freshly sown saplings and the seed-beds prepared for the second crop have been completely destroyed. The Uma variety of paddy seeds had been used for cultivation this season. Farmers say they had purchased the saplings from other fields at higher prices, hoping for a better yield. Instead, the deluge has turned their investment into ruin.

Most of the affected fields belong to farmers who had taken loans, some even on daily interest, to keep their farms alive. Those cultivating on leased land have been the worst hit, left with no means to recover their losses. In nearby fields too, the sight is the same with the hopes of farmers flattened and floating in muddy water.

Farmers in the region are preparing to lodge complaints with the Krishi Bhavan and elected representatives. Nearly 100 acres of paddy fields have been submerged. Farmers claim that the disruption in water flow in the Bharatapuzha River, caused by the construction of a new bridge near the Pattambi bridge, has led to flooding in the fields. Restoration of canals in the region, including the Korakkuzhi canal, and their deepening has been a long-standing demand of the farming community.