Fertilizers, especially urea, were in short supply and sold at a premium above the government fixed rates in the district, alleged a cross-section of farmers’ representatives at the monthly farmers grievances meeting here on Friday.
Drawing the attention of the authorities to the problem, Puliyur A.Nagarajan of the Congress Farmers Wing complained that there was a shortage of urea, gypsum, di-ammonnium phosphate, potash, and complex fertilizers in the districts. Farmers urgently require urea in big quantities right now and have been put into much hardship. Some traders were hoarding the fertilizers, he alleged and demanded steps against black marketing.
Supporting his allegation, P. Ayyakannu, State vice-president, Bharathiya Kisan Sangam, said urea was being sold at Rs. 360 a bag, about Rs. 100 above the government stipulated price.
A section of farmers alleged that most cooperative societies did not have adequate quantity of fertilizers, especially urea. “State and Union government policies are attributed as reasons for the current shortage of urea. The district authorities should ensure adequate stock of urea was made available in the cooperative societies and in the open market,” said N. Veerasekaran, organiser, South and North Ayyan Vaical Pasanatharar Sangam.
An officer of the Agriculture Department said that 3320 tonnes of urea, 3580 tonnes of DAP, 4,030 tonnes of potash and 4,998 tonnes of complex fertilizers were available in the district. About 10,900 tonnes of urea have been sought and the consignment is expected to arrive in the first week of November. Meanwhile, special squads have been formed to conduct checks at private fertilizer retail outlets to check over pricing and other irregularities, he said.
A section of the farmers expressed concern over the refusal of the private sugar mills to pay the State advised price for sugarcane. Mr. Ayyakannu urged the district officials to initiate action against the mills. R. Raja Chidambaram, State Secretary, Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, urged the district administration to direct village administrative officers to issue promptly copies of ‘adangals’ which were required to get crop loans from cooperative societies. The update of the land records should be completed at the earliest.
P. Viswanathan, Tamizhaga Eri Mattrum Attru Pasana Vivasayigal Sangam, expressed concern over the poor storage in a majority of tanks in the district despite the recent spells of rain and urged the authorities to take draw up a comprehensive proposal to dredge canals and water bodies to harness the rain water.
Supporting the plea, R. Subramanian, deputy secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, demanded steps to dredge all the 17 irrigation canals. The Kattalai High Level Canal should be renovated and modernised, he demanded.
