Collector M. Karunakaran has assured the farmers that he would recommend to the State Government to declare the district as ‘drought-hit’ after the agriculturists, carrying withered crops in the monthly farmers’ grievance redressal meet, urged him to give adequate compensation for the loss they had suffered after the northeast monsoon belied.
During the meet held at the Collectorate on Friday, agriculturists from Sankarankovil and Surandai, carrying withered black gram and groundnut crops, entered the District Development Council Hall and asked the Collector, who was chairing the meeting, to forward the proposal to the government for disbursing compensation for the crop loss.
“After the district failed to get any rain during the southwest monsoon, we’d cultivated only rain-fed crops in our area. As the northeast monsoon also belied, black gram and groundnut cultivated on several hundred acres have completely withered. Hence, the Collector should inspect the affected fields and make arrangements for disbursing compensation to the farmers,” a group of farmers from Panaivadalichathram appealed to Dr. Karunakaran.
Another group of farmers from Kulaiyaneri, with dried-up paddy, also sought compensation. Members of Shenbhagavalli Check-Dam Riparian Rights Retrieval Forum urged the Collector to contact the Kerala Government through the State Government for repairing the check dam in the Western Ghats inside the neighbouring State. “Though the Tamil Nadu Government was prepared to bear the expenses for repairing the damaged Shenbhagavalli check-dam, the Kerala Government is not prepared to agree to this proposal. If the damaged check-dam is rebuilt, it will help in diverting water to revive farming operations on several thousand acres of land in Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar districts,” said Pandian, coordinator of the forum.
Some of the farmers condemned the confiscation of tractor by a nationalised bank from a farmer from Mukkoottumalai near Thiruvenkatam for non-payment of crop loan.
As the farmers started raising slogans to highlight their demands and left the hall, police personnel were deployed in and outside the venue. After the sloganeering subsided and the farmers returned to the hall, Dr. Karunakaran assured them that he would recommend to the State Government to declare the district ‘drought-hit’ so that the affected farmers would get due compensation.
Officials attached to the Department of Agriculture informed that more than 90 per cent of the rain-fed crops cultivated in the district had dried up after the monsoon failure. “Those who have insured their crop will get the insured amount,” the officials said. When the farmers charged that the officials were not providing reply to their queries, Dr. Karunakaran warned that the erring officials would have to face severe action.
