With over 700 acres at the Government Large Scale Farm at Madhahalli village in Talavadi taluk remaining unutilised for over 25 years now, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and people wanted the land given to landless farmers, so that they could take up cultivation and improve their livelihood.
The Department of Sericulture had in 1967 established a P1 seed farm on 785.29 acre at Madhahalli for the production and maintenance of different races of local and bivoltine silkworms. Of the 19 seed farms in the State, this seed farm is the second largest, next to Kollatti (868.55 acre) in Krishnagiri district. About 48.12 acre is being utilised, including 25 acre for mulberry cultivation. As many as 737.17 acre remain unutilised.
S. Mohan Kumar, State Committee Member of CPI, told The Hindu that when the farm was functioning earlier, it provided jobs to local people. “But, in the last 25 years, due to water shortage and various other reasons, the farm house is not functioning properly,” he said.
“Mulberry is currently cultivated only on 10 acre and many people who were dependent on the farm house lost their jobs. The unutilised land should be given to such people,” he said.
He said that the land can be given to the people on lease or two-acre of land could be given to each family for a certain period. Since land in Talavadi is rain-fed in which millets are largely cultivated, the produce helps to meet the food needs of the family for a year. “Landless people depend on their daily wages for fulfilling their basic needs. If land is available, they could earn and improve their livelihood,” he said.
Members of Tamil Maanila Vivasaya Tholilalar Sangam said that the Talavadi East Union’s first conference was held in Hasanur on July 2 in which a resolution urging the government to distribute the land to landless people was passed.
