Dry truths

Action councils have been set up in a number of villages in Kerala opposing the proposed Kurumaulloor Major Distribution Canal, an 18.5 km extension canal of the Muvattupuzha Irrigation Project. The Project) begun in 1975 to provide water for raising three crops of paddy, was to be completed in six years. Twenty years hence, not a drop has reached the farmers. Paddy cultivation has gradually given way to tapioca, pineapple, coconut and rubber. The action council's leaders say micro-irrigation -projects like drip irrigation would be more beneficial under the existing circumstances.