Thanjai farmers stage walkout over insurance row

TIRUCHY: The farmers from Thanjavur staged a walk out of the grievance meet on Friday against the discrepancy in the disbursement of crop insurance claims while in Tiruchy there was a demand to control the wild animal menace.

While Thanjavur farmers have been protesting against the discrepancy shown by the insurance firms in the distribution of the insurance claims for the past several days, the reply by the insurance firm officials at the grievances redressal meet in Thanjavur had irritated the farmers which prompted a walk out of the meeting hall.

As soon as the meeting commenced in Thanjavur, the farmers put forth their grievance that the insurance firm had disbursed a claim of Rs 36 lakh for 2021-22 to seven revenue villages. They demanded the agricultural insurance firm to give a proper reply.

However, the insurance firm’s Thanjavur district coordinator Sathish Kumar who was present could not give a proper reply and the farmers demanded a white paper on the disbursement of insurance claim.

The farmers also charged that the insurance firm had made an unusual delay in the disbursement of insurance claims for 2016. They expressed dissatisfaction about the disbursement of Rs 36 lakh in Thanjavur and crores of rupees in the other districts.

Since the official Sathish Kumar could not give a proper reply, the irate farmers staged a walk out of the meeting hall and staged a protest in the Collectorate premises demanding proper reply from the official and increase in the disbursement amount.

After a while, they came inside the hall and submitted a petition to the Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver enlisting their demands.

Meanwhile in Tiruchy, the farmers demanded action against the wild animal menace. They charged that they have been appealing to the district administration for proper action against the wild animals that prowl into their agricultural land and destroy their crops. Collector M Pradeep Kumar assured the farmers to initiate steps to curb the menace at once.