Include Tiruchy in Protected Agri Zone, demand farmers

The farmers from the Tank and River Ayacutdars Welfare Association, who came with the ‘naamam’  on their foreheads, rallied to the District Collectorate raising slogans, condemning the state government for the omission of the district in the list of Protected Agricultural Zone.

Suddenly, they started rolling on the floor condemning that the State government had purposefully rejected Tiruchy in the zone. They said that the Cauvery is a lifeline for the people of Tiruchy and the only source of irrigation has been utilised from the Cauvery.

“Tiruchy has around 2.42 lakh acre cultivable land in which paddy has been raised in at least 1.5 lakh acre and the entire district has been irrigated through the Cauvery but the failure to include the district in the Protected Agricultural Zone left the farmers from the district dejected,” said P Viswanathan, state president of the association, who ledthe protest.

Viswanathan claimed that the Chief Minister, who had declared the Cauvery Delta region as Protected Agricultural Zone had promised to include Tiruchy and Ariyalur but when the list was out both Tiruchy and Ariyalur were left out and this has hurt the farmers a lot, he said.

He also claimed that the omission of the districts from the zone would mean giving a green signal for the Centre to start exploration projects in these district and so the state government should immediately add the districts in the zone to save the agricultural activities in these district.

Later, they submitted a petition with District Collector S Sivarasu, appealing to recommend to the state government to add the districts in the zone. The Collector who received the petition, assured to forward it to thestate government.