Farmers in Madurai district could convey their grievances to agricultural officers through telephone for which a dedicated helpline number would be made available soon, said Collector U. Sagayam here on Friday.
Presiding over the monthly farmers' grievance redressal meeting, he said that instead of a monthly interface between farmers and agriculture officials, the district administration had examined the modalities of establishing the helpline facility so that farmers could get their grievances redressed in a swift manner. A sub-committee comprising farmers and officials from Agriculture, PWD and allied departments could meet once a week or a fortnight and sort out issues, he said. Many farmers welcomed the move.
When a large number of farmers complained of short supply of fertilizers, Mr. Sagayam reprimanded the officials. “How can you come out with stereo-typed replies…Don't you all know that our farmers require fertilizers such as potash, urea and complex this month…When fertilizers are available with private agencies, as pointed out by farmers, what went wrong with the officials in storing adequate stocks…, he asked them. Giving an ultimatum of five hours, the Collector said, “By this evening, ensure that stocks are moved to the respective societies or latest by Saturday morning or face action.”
When the official concerned informed that he had joined only 20 days ago and was taking instructions from Joint Registrar (Cooperatives), the Collector said that those were internal matters. “Get the fertilizers moved. In case of short supply, ensure that it is procured as early as possible,” he said.
When farmers complained about problems faced in water distribution in many areas, Mr. Sagayam assured that the matter would be looked into. He directed the officials to ensure that there was no confusion in supply of water for irrigation. Soon, farmers in the district would get a SMART card that would contain all information about the cardholder. Through the card, officials could have access to details of the farmer such as location, crop cultivation across various seasons, water availability, nature of soil, and fertilizer usage.
