Farmers want the State government to ensure that Karnataka released water in the Cauvery in time to undertake ‘samba’ paddy cultivation, “as ‘kuruvai’ had failed for five successive years in the delta and they were expecting water for at least the ‘samba’ crop.
Raising the issue at the grievance day meeting here on Friday, district vice-president of Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Thozhilalar Sangam V. Jeevakumar said Karnataka was dodging release of water as per final orders of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and thereby denying delta farmers a chance to earn their livelihood. It was a gross violation of basic rights of delta farmers which needed to be countered by the Tamil Nadu government.
Though the State government issued a G.O. on waiver of cooperative loans for small and marginal farmers, its implementation needed clarity. The government must clear the air, he said adding ‘kuruvai’ package must be extended to farmers engaged in manual transplanting.
“Waiver, a gimmick”
Another farmer V. Veerasenan said the loan waiver was a gimmick “as nobody knows who the real beneficiaries were and farmers continue to depend on private lenders as societies and banks do not lend credit to defaulting farmers.”
Samy Natarajan of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam wanted anomalies in copra procurement rectified and sought immediate desilting and dredging of irrigation and drainage channels in the delta region. Water flow must be ensured till tail-end areas, he said.
Another farmer A. Thangavelu said there must be adequate stock of fertilizers, pesticides and other farm inputs for the ‘samba’ season.
“Malpractices in DPCs”
A farmer A.K.R. Ravichander said rampant malpractices in direct purchase centres drained farmers’ hard-earned money and they must be stopped.
The meeting was chaired by District Revenue Officer P. Chandrasekaran. Earlier, Collector N. Subbaiyan, who has since been transferred, thanked the farmers for their cooperation during his tenure.
A section of the farmers led by Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam district vice-president Kakkarai Sukumaran staged a novel protest against the State and Central governments for their inability to get water released by Karnataka in Cauvery.
