THOOTHUKUDI
Farmers staged a protest on the Collectorate premises here on Tuesday demanding immediate release of water in the Vadakaal Channel in Srivaikundam to save standing crops raised on over 10,000 acres.
Led by K.P. Perumal, State treasurer of Tamil Nadu Vivasaayigal Sangam, they said the farmers who had cultivated paddy and plantain on over 10,000 acres under the Srivaikundam Vadakaal Channel have been left in the lurch as the rain-fed and system irrigation tanks under this system are dry. Since release of water in the Vadakaal Channel alone can save the standing crops and growers from loss, the affected farmers submitted petitions to the Public Works Department officials besides forwarding the plea to the Collector.
“As the PWD officials failed to take up our genuine demand with the government for releasing water in Vadakaal Channel, we’re staging the protest,” said Mr. Perumal.
After over 100 farmers from Servaikaaranmadam, Thangammalpuram and Sebaththaiyapuram participated in the agitation, tension gripped the Collectorate for a while forcing the police to intervene. Even though the police tried to pacify the farmers to give up the protest, they refused to relent.
When 23 farmers of Vadakaal Channel area came to the Collectorate in a van to participate in the agitation, they were intercepted at Sivagnanapuram near Sawyerpuram and arrested. As the news about the arrest of the farmers reached the protest venue on the Collectorate, the agitation got intensified even as the revenue, police and the PWD officials held talks with them.
Only after PWD’s Srivaikundam Sub-Divisional Engineer Authimoolam assured the protesting farmers that 400 cusecs of water would be released in Vadakaal Channel from next Tuesday (July 5) for a week and the farmers arrested at Sivagnanapuram were released, the agitation was given up around 12 noon.
