4 days ago
Farmers demand timely completion of desilting work, disbursement of kuruvai special package
With the sluices of Mettur dam set to be opened on June 12, farmers in Tiruchi district have called for the completion of all desilting work taken up on canals and waterbodies in the district and disbursement of kuruvai special package in time.
Raising the issue at the monthly farmers grievances meeting, Ayilai Siva Suriyan, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the CPI, said that kuruvai paddy cultivation had declined in recent years in the district and the authorities should give a push to it by expediting desilting operations and distributing the kuruvai special package to encourage farmers to take up cultivation during the season. The government should extend the assistance by way of cash instead of agricultural inputs, he said.
A senior official of the Water Resources department said the desilting being carried out by the River Conservation Division was nearing completion. Collector M. Pradeep Kumar, who was in the chair, directed the officials to ensure that the work was completed in time for the release of water for irrigation.
Credit disbursal
Taking exception to cooperative societies insisting on sureties and margin money for extending credit, P. Ayyakannu, State president of Desiya Thennidiya Nadigal Innaippu Vivasayigal Sangam, urged the district officials to ensure that cooperative societies did not insist on sureties and 10% margin money for sanction of agriculture loans. The Reserve Bank of India recently said that agricultural loans of up to ₹2 lakh should be extended without any collateral, he pointed out.
Koundampatti R. Subramanian, deputy secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers' Association, called upon the district authorities to ensure uninterrupted water supply in the 17 irrigation channels and urged the State government to ensure that Karnataka released Tamil Nadu's share of water every month as stipulated by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
N. Veerasekaran, State secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangam, called upon the district authorities to ensure availability of different varieties of seeds as per the requirement of farmers in areas irrigated by canals and wells. He urged the district administration to take steps to ensure that benefit of PM Kisan Scheme reached all eligible beneficiaries. Several eligible farmers had not got the assistance and many who received it had been excluded from the list, he said.
Earlier, Mr. Pradeep Kumar, responding to a complaint, instructed officials of the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd., to look into complaints of frequent power cuts. 'I am getting more complaints now. Power supply is being suspended even if there is strong breeze; you can do so if there is significant wind speed,' he said citing his own experience at his camp office.
Exhibition opened
Earlier, Mr. Pradeep Kumar inaugurated an exhibition on agricultural machinery organised by the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the Collectorate.
Mr. Veerasekaran, while appreciating the initiative, suggested that it be held on a bigger scale at the agricultural colleges in the district.
