Ramanathapuram: About 40 members of Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association, affiliated to All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), courted arrest here on Monday, when they attempted to lay siege to the Collectorate complex, pressing for a charter of demands which included declaring Tamil Nadu a ‘drought-hit’ State.
Led by K. Jeeva, association’s district president. and N.K. Rajan, district secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), the farmers, including four women, tried to proceed towards the entrance of the Collectorate complex, when police arrested them for violating police orders.
Explaining the demands of the farming community, Mr. Rajan said as the north-east monsoon failed and Karanataka refused to release the Cauvery water, the Centre should declare Tamil Nadu a drought-hit State and award compensation to the affected farmers.
As crops failed throughout the State, the State and Central governments should provide compensation of Rs. 30,000 per acre and waive the farm loans availed by all the farmers in general, and small and marginal farmers in particular. He said 35 farmers had either committed suicide or died after hit by drought and the government should provide a compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the affected families each.
The governments should also help the families of farm workers with an assistance of Rs. 25,000 each as they were rendered jobless, he said, and urged the authorities to pay the premium the to farmers who had insured their crops during 2014-15.
Mr. Rajan also urged the Centre to constitute Cauvery Management Board as per the orders of the Supreme Court and facilitate release of the Tamil Nadu’s share of water in the Cauvery. The arrested farmers were detained in a commuity hall and released in the evening, the police said.
