Farmers on Friday staged walk-outs and raised slogans at grievance redressal meetings conducted through video-conferencing by Collector M. Govinda Rao.
Alleging malpractices at direct purchase centres (DPCs), farmers at Kumbakonam and Thiruvaiyaru staged walk-outs before registering their grievances/views before the Collector, while those at Ammapettai registered their protest by raising slogans against what they described as irregularities in disbursal of crop loans.
At Kumbakonam, a section of farmers led by Sundara Vimalanathan, secretary, Thanjavur District Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, staged a walk-out protesting official inaction in curbing the demand for `bribes' from farmers to measure paddy at DPCs.
Later participating in the meeting, a memorandum addressed to the Collector was submitted to the Assistant Director (Agriculture), Kumbakonam.
At Thiruvaiyaru, farmers staged a walk-out protesting non-declaration of ‘special support package' for kuruvai and samba for the last two years and non-release of water into Thiruthangal and Konerirajapuram canals near Kudamuruti regulator.
At Ammapettai, the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam raised slogans at the venue protesting the `partiality' exhibited by those involved in the disbursement of crop loan to members of Ammapettai Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Society. It also urged officials to ensure that adequate quantity of water for irrigation reached tail-end areas.
At Budalur, participants claimed that several lakes and tanks in Agniyaru division remained barren despite flow of sufficient quantity of water into Grand Anicut Canal from June. They also complained that shortage of fertilizers affected agriculture operations in the egion.
Addressing the farmers from the Collectorate, Mr. Govinda Rao and other senior officials said sufficient quantities of urea/fertilizers were available in the district. Around 670 tonnes of short-term paddy variety seeds were also in stock with Agriculture Extension Service centres. So far, 1,757 tonnes of paddy seeds had been distributed to farmers for taking up kuruvai and samba cultivation in the district.
As on November 20, around 1.24 lakh hectares had been brought under samba and thaladi cultivation and nurseries had been raised for paddy cultivation in another 9,000 hectares.
