Even as another drought-like situation stares at farmers in the district, like elsewhere in the State, farmers who have lost their crops due to drought in the past two years are yet to get compensation.
Sources in the district panchayat and Krishi Bhavans in the district told The Hindu that around 5,000 marginal farmers in the district were yet to get the compensation announced by the government. The compensation amounting to Rs.6 crore, a part of it flood relief, was yet to be disbursed to the farmers, a source in the Agriculture Department said.
The compensation could not be disbursed as the State government was yet to release the amount. The reason cited by the State government was that it was yet to receive the amount from the Union Agriculture Ministry, the official said.
The delay in getting the compensation in time has forced the farmers to turn to local moneylenders in order to carry forward farming activities.
Also, farmers are finding it difficult to get water for farming. Water shortage was likely to become acute in the coming months as water sources were fast drying out, the official added.
When contacted, Rufus Daniel, vice-president, district panchayat, said the civic body had taken up the issue with the District Collector and Agriculture Department on several occasions. The situation, he said, would become worse if the amount was not disbursed immediately.
“In Venganoor panchayat alone, there are around 1,000 applications pending for drought assistance. Already drought has started affecting cultivation and those involved in banana cultivation are complaining of crop loss,” Mr Daniel said.
