P. Kanagaraj, a resident of Ganapathy Ganesh Layout, is worried about the 15 cows at his house.
“I milk around 130 litres a day to make around ₹650 a day, after deducting expenses. But now I’m worried – not necessarily because I can’t make that much money. But because my cows are going without food.” He feeds 50 bundles of green fodder and 100 – 150kg of feed that is a mixture groundnut cake, bran, cotton seed and a few other items. “Now, during this lockdown, I’m unable to source either green fodder or the feed,” he rues.
R. Kalyanasundaram, a resident of Vadavalli, says there is no green fodder almost anywhere in Coimbatore as the district is dependent on Erode.
R. Mylsamy of K.N. Palayam, Sathyamangalam, says he used to supply around 2,000 stacks of maize – the green fodder – to cattle growers in Ganapathy, Sanganur, Edayarpalayam, Vadavalli, Vellakinaru, Saravanampatty, Vilankurichi and a few other areas. But with police stopping vehicles and he having paid advance to farmers, is stuck. “On the one hand, I’m unable to transport goods to Coimbatore, and, on the other, the advance I’ve paid to farmers to harvest maize is as good as gone as the crops are wilting and I cannot ask them to return the advance.”
Farmers’ Association (non-partisan) general secretary P. Kandasamy says the Association has taken the issue to the notice of the officials concerned. In fact, the Agriculture Department Secretary has on March 24 written a letter to all officials to allow movement of agriculture goods and keep open shops selling agriculture goods, including fertilizers. Since the transport of fodder is covered under this, officials manning check-posts should have no problem in allowing movement of vehicles carrying green fodder or animal feed from anywhere in the State. But, the reality is that, many officials who man the check post are unaware of such an order.
Collector K. Rajamani says farmers and cattle growers have brought the issue to his notice. He has had a word with the Erode Collector, who apparently has asked the Revenue Department officials in Gobichettipalayam to permit movement of vehicles with fodder.
