Vellore farmers happy on getting crop relief from government

Farmers in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts were happy as the government bowing to their demand provided compensation for crop loss due to the recent monsoon, sources said.

It may be recalled that in these columns on November 21 the blatant discrimination suffered by erstwhile North Arcot farmers when the government promised to give them only agriculture kits worth Rs 6,000 and not the compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare as given to Delta district farmers was highlighted.

Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam Ranipet district president CS Mani said “We were totally aggrieved as the crop damage we suffered due to fields being inundated by rain water was similar to the suffering by Delta farmers.”

“We had to ensure that officials fully understood the implications of local farmers being denied compensation and hence we approached district officials for redressal of our just grievance, added the Sangam’s district treasurer N Rajamanickam.

The Sangam’s youth wing state president R Subash said the “imbroglio occurred due to officials terming the crop loss we suffered as being that of late samba paddy when in fact it was samba which was ready for harvest that was inundated leading to losses for farmers.”

Following visits by district officials to various affected farms, officials finally accepted their mistake and set about correcting it. “Though initially we were promised only agri kits worth Rs 6,000 containing seed paddy, urea and fertilizer we are now happy that they have accepted to provide us the regular compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare,” Subash said.

With nearly 5,000 hectares in erstwhile North Arcot district to benefit by this government largesse, farmers are happy that they will now be at least able to opt for cultivation in the next paddy season.