Even as farmers admitted that it would be impossible to even think of raising short-term kuruvai crop this season, due to the inability of the government to open Mettur dam following failure of the south west monsoon in Karnataka, they appealed to the government to declare the district drought-hit and compensate the loss they have suffered.
Raising the issue at the farmers’ grievances meet here on Friday, a number of farmer leaders, including M.Kanagasabhai, State president of Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, and Siva Suriyan and Masilamani, district secretaries of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangham, pleaded that the farmers who could not raise kuruvai should be given a compensation of at least Rs.10,000 per acre. “Besides, agricultural labourers who have been deprived of their livelihood should also be granted Rs.10,000 per family,” they added. Also, the entire crop loan should be written off and land tax should be waived.
All of them were furious that indiscriminate sand quarrying had been going on in the Cauvery. “Even in drought periods a few years ago, we use to get good amount of water by digging to an extent of 10-15 feet. Now we have to sink to a depth of 30-35 feet. At least 1,000 lorry loads of sand are being quarried in the district and it is quite unfortunate that district authorities have failed to furnish the correct information to the High Court in this regard,” they lamented.
Mr.Siva Suriyan had brought photographs to prove how sand mining has been going on with impunity even in places not permitted.
The farmers expressed their apprehension saying such an exploitation of natural resource could lead to drinking water scarcity.
T.Thyagarajan, District Revenue Officer, was in the chair.
Rajachidambaram, State general secretary of Tamilga Vivasayigal Sangham, and P.Ayyakkannu, former State general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Sangham, wondered how the promise of Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers M.K.Alagiri that prices of fertilizers would be controlled, had been ignored.
“Giving a go-by to this promise made on November 14, last year, the Central government, which used to fix the “maximum retail price” (MRP), had given up this right. Instead it had allowed fertilizer companies to fix the MRP that too based on the “nutrients”. This had triggered a rise in price of both DAP and potash to an astronomical level. The DAP that was quoting around Rs.436 a bag had skyrocketed to Rs.1,200 and the price of potash shot up from Rs.231 to Rs.840. The government should revert to the old method of fixing the MRP and bring down the prices of fertilizers. Otherwise, agriculture would die,” they warned.
R.Nagarajan, State vice president of Agricultural Wing of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, pleaded for release of at least 5,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) from Mettur dam to save the standing crops of banana, sugarcane and other crop, in about two lakh acres in the 17-channel area.
Joint Director of Agriculture J.Sekar said that the prices of both fertilizers and seed were “policy related” issues and the district administration would be able to do nothing about them except conveying the feelings of the farmers to the government.
