Farmers from Agamalai in Theni district have sought the district administration to provide them with solar lights and have also urged the officials to replace worn out or old transformers here on Friday.
Participating at the farmers’ grievances redressal meeting that was presided over by Collector RV Shajeevana at Periyakulam Horticultural College & Research Institute, many of them said that a ‘new’ type of pest had attacked the mango saplings. They wanted the Horticultural department officials to immediately inspect the farms and help them overcome the crisis.
They also pointed out that many transformers had worn out as they were installed over a decade ago. As a result, they were unable to get quality flow of power, which ended up in poor pumping of water from the well for irrigation.
The Collector said that the TANGEDCO officials would be told about the need to replace old transformers in a phased manner.
The farmers unanimously urged the Collector to desilt the Vaigai dam and also wanted three check dams in Moola Vaigai river, Sirar and Moongilaaru in Varushanadu area.
When the farmers wanted to expedite the issuance of letters/No Objection Certificates for lifting alluvial soil from waterbodies, the Collector said that out of 539 applications received, 127 among them had been given letters to lift the soil. She assured that the rest of the applications would be looked into at the earliest.
Farmers from Yerumalainaickenpatti wanted the oorani in the village to be cleaned up as encroachments blocked the space and hence they could not conserve water. When some of the officials said that the district had adequate fertilizers, the farmers alleged that the paddy seeds sold in some of the depots were sub-standard. The Collector assured to keep a close vigil and appealed to the farmers to lodge complaints with the Assistant Director Quality Control.
Deficit rainfall
Officials said that the normal annual rainfall for the district was 829.80 mm. Till this month (April), the district had recorded only 82.70 mm against 212.10 mm, which was 129.40 mm deficit. However, they were confident of providing water for irrigation as the reservoirs had copious storage for both irrigation and drinking water needs.
District Revenue Officer R Jayabharathi, Dean J Rajangam, Joint Director (Agriculture) Shankar and among other officials participated.
