As DMK-TVK slugfest rages over Udhayanidhi, farmers ask: What about Cauvery water?

The arrest of Udhayanidhi Stalin may have taken over social media and elsewhere with images of the DMK leader being escorted by the police to Thanjavur, but farmers in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta say the political spectacle has overshadowed the real crisis unfolding in their fields."

As DMK and TVK supporters stage protests and counter-protests across the state, disrupting traffic on roads leading to Thanjavur, farmers question why similar urgency was absent when they were protesting for over a month demanding Cauvery water supply.

'TVK govt's inexperience shows'

Many farmers have already lost their kuruvai crop after inadequate water release from Mettur dam. They are now anxiously waiting for Cauvery water to reach the delta so that the delayed Samba cultivation can begin this week. Instead of discussions on securing water or providing relief, they say political parties are locked in a confrontation over Udhayanidhi's arrest. Farmers also slammed the Vijay-led TVK government's handling of the water dispute, saying its inexperience had become evident at every stage.

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Recalling Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's election campaign speech in Thanjavur on March 4, farmer S Ramesh said the Chief Minister had struck an emotional chord with cultivators. During the campaign, Vijay had told voters that if rebirth were real, he would wish to be born into a farmer's family, and asked whether they trusted him enough to give him a chance. "I believed him and voted for him. Today we are going through a painful reality," Ramesh said.

'Delta looks like a desert'

Already burdened with debt and having lost his kuruvai crop to the delayed release of water, Ramesh said he has little hope for the Samba season. His seven-acre farm is dry, and he describes the Cauvery delta as looking like a desert. No minister has visited to see the ground reality, he said — only reels and social media campaigns, while the seriousness needed to secure Tamil Nadu's rightful share of water is still missing.

Farmers' association slams DMK too

Leaders of farmers' associations accused both the ruling TVK and the opposition DMK of politicising the Cauvery issue instead of working towards practical solutions.

PR Pandian, general secretary of the Cauvery Farmers Association, said both Udhayanidhi's remarks and the government's decision to arrest him deserved criticism. "Udhayanidhi's statement should certainly be condemned. But arresting him a day before the Assembly is scheduled to present the State Budget is equally condemnable. Instead of discussing farmers' distress, politics has taken centre stage," Pandian told The Federal.

According to him, the DMK is attempting to capitalise on farmers' distress through protests while limiting its response to walkouts in the Assembly. The TVK government, he said, has escalated the political confrontation by filing cases against Udhayanidhi, shifting public attention away from the Cauvery crisis. "Both sides have reduced the importance of the Cauvery issue. Meanwhile, Karnataka is watching Tamil Nadu's internal political fight," he said.

'TVK govt not transparent in dealing with Cauvery issue'

Pandian also questioned the TVK government's handling of the water dispute, saying its inexperience had become evident at every stage.

He said that the government has not been transparent with farmers — Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had publicly said Vijay would visit Karnataka, only to later ask him to wait for the right time, with the Tamil Nadu government never clarifying its own position.

He questioned why Tamil Nadu should depend on such unofficial channels instead of enforcing its legal rights when the Supreme Court verdict and CWMA directions already lay down Karnataka's obligations.

Farmers also raised concerns about the government's approach to crop loan waivers.

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S Dhanapalan, general secretary of the Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, said the government had diluted one of its key election promises.

The TVK manifesto had promised a full crop loan waiver for farmers owning less than five acres and a 50 per cent waiver for larger holdings — but after assuming office, the government changed the formula, initially announcing a waiver only for loans up to Rs 50,000 taken by small and marginal farmers from cooperative banks.

Following protests, it revised the scheme to a full waiver for loans up to Rs 75,000 and Rs 35,000 for loans above that. Dhanapalan called it a "divide-and-rule formula", alleging the government altered the scheme after coming to power instead of fulfilling its promise.

He also criticised the government for not pursuing stronger legal action against Karnataka over the Mekedatu project.