Farmers seek relief for crop damage, flag fertilizer shortage

TIRUCHY: Farmers listed a series of grievances, including crop damage compensation, non-availability of fertilizers and absence of adequate number of godowns, during the agricultural grievances day meeting held in Delta districts on Friday.

Farmers, led by P Viswanathan, state president of Tank and River Ayacutdars Welfare Association, who staged a protest with empty sacks in front of the Collectorate before the meeting that was to chaired by Tiruchy Collector M Pradeep Kumar, claimed that most of the areas reported fertilizer shortage and alleged that private outlets have been hoarding it to create an artificial demand and sell it at high prices.

“Since the cultivation of paddy is at its peak, farmers have no other go but to buy fertilizer at inflated rates in private outlets,” said Viswanathan and urged the government to ensure adequate stock of fertilizer like DAP, urea and potash. They also demanded a detailed assessment and proper compensation for the damaged crops and submitted a petition in this regard to the Collector.

In Thanjavur, a section of farmers, led by Kakkarai Sukumaran, the state vice president of Confederation of Farmers Associations, carried pen model made of thermocol and staged a protest demanding the state government to consider spending money for the construction of godowns rather than allocating it for the construction of ‘pen memorial’ for former chief minister M Karunanidhi.

Claiming that the farmers were upset due to the shortage of facilities that resulted in damage to harvested paddy during the recent rains, the protesters demanded to reconsider the decision to construct the Rs 80-crore memorial. The farmers pointed out that they had not received even the insurance claims for 2021-22.

“The DMK promised to provide Rs 2,500 per quintal of paddy and Rs 4,000 per tonne of sugarcane, but they had not fulfilled the poll promises,” said Sukumaran. At this juncture, the memorial for Rs 80 will be of no use to farmers, he said and added that the association would stage a protest in front of the Secretariat.