Amid the Cauvery water dispute row, a 47-year-old farmer in Tamil Nadus Thiruvaimur village died from a heart attack after he fainted in his field on Sunday. His family has alleged that the farmer, identified as Rajkumar, was under a lot of mental stress after his crops died due to a lack of water supply from the Cauvery River.Tamil Nadu farmer dies of heart attack amid Cauvery River disputeNotably, the water supply from the Cauvery River is a point of contention between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as the two states have fought for their due share for a century now.According to the farmers family, he had planted Kuruvai paddy (short-term cultivation) on his land using a direct seeding method after water was released from the Mettur Dam on June 12. The crops needed a non-stop water supply for them to sprout and mature.However, the water supply to his land fell short after Cauvery water was not released. To ensure that his crops grew, Rajkumar, with a few other farmers used motors to supply water to their land from kilometres away.Despite his efforts, the water still fell short and the farmland started developing cracks just as soon as the crop started maturing.Then, the farmer decided to destroy the crops and prepare the land for the Samba cycle of cultivation (long-term). But, this meant he would have to get more loans on top of the ones which he was unable to repay.Rajkumar was under stress: His familyRajkumars family said that he borrowed around Rs 4 lakh from banks and Rs 3.5 lakh from other sources. He also pawned his wifes jewellery.“He was very depressed to see the dried crops and that was what led to his death,” said his family.The Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami expressed his condolences to Rajkumars family and slammed Chief Minister MK Stalin for failing to get Cauvery water. Further, he demanded the government to provide Rs 25 lakh as ex-gratia to Rajkumars family.Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government said it hopes to save the standing Kuruvai paddy crop in the state using the Cauvery water being released from Karnataka. The Karnataka government is expected to release 5,000 cusecs of water per day till September 27 as per an order by the Supreme Court.
