Grant relief, say farmers

Grievance day turns out to be stormy in Thanjavur

Farmers staging a demonstration in Thanjavur on Friday.

Farmers aghast at the State Government’s “failure” to record all farmer related deaths and suicides and perked up over the ‘inadequate’ relief for crop loss took the grievances day by storm performing funeral to a skull here on Friday.

With the meeting about to commence, sections of farmers laid a siege of officials and urged the Central and State governments to accept responsibility for the drought, crop loss and death of farmers, declare the State drought-hit, sanction Rs. 25,000 per acre for all farmers who have lost their crops and Rs. 10 lakh to the next of kin of the dead farmers.

They demanded that the ban on jallikattu be lifted and the sport allowed besides seeking to ban the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). They staged a walk out from the meeting.

Cauvery Delta Ryots Association president A.K. Ravichander pulled out a skull that he had brought, placed a rupee coin on its forehead, garlanded it with flowers, offered “vaikkarisi” and floral tributes to conduct a mock funeral to highlight the plight of the delta farmers. Immediately all farmers joined him in the act and demanded that the government take a list of affected fields and enlist all farmers who had died for awarding compensation.

Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Thozhilalar Sangam district vice-president V. Jeevakumar wanted steps to be taken to ameliorate the sufferings of landless farm labourers.

Cauvery Farmers Protection Association secretary Swamimalai R. Vimalnathan wanted immediate desilting of all water sources and pleaded with the government to conduct jallikkattu in all villages.

Thozhagiripatti Govindaraj wanted the government to extend crop loss relief to sugarcane growers also and urged the authorities to release the arrears of Rs. 450 a tonne held since the last season to those who had supplied cane to Kurungulam Arignar Anna Cooperative Sugar Mills.

Collector A. Annadurai announced that the Central team would assess the ground situation with regard to drought and crop loss in Thanjavur district on Sunday.