Kanhangad: Scorching heat and lack of sufficient rains, even in the Malayalam month of ‘Karkidakam’, have adversely affected paddy farmers in the state. 

In Kasaragod’s Erikulam, paddy cultivation on 25 acres of land is in crisis due to absence of rains. Of this, 15 acres are cultivated by Vettakkorumakan Kottam Devaswom and the rest by Kudumbashree Joint Liability Groups. 

At present, farmers are trying to find motor pumps to irrigate the fields. Water is pumped from the wells of nearby houses from evening till night. If the paddy lands are not irrigated properly, then it could damage the yields. 

Meanwhile, the farmers remain worried about the meteorological department’s prediction that the state is not likely to receive rains for the next few days.