Farmer sets fire to paddy alleging non-payment of insurance compensation

VELLORE: A farmer irked at agriculture department officials not inspecting his flood-hit fields, set fire to paddy crop at a village near Ponnai on the Vellore –Ranipet district border on Thursday. Sources said that farmer Sivakumar of Kondareddiyur near Ponnai raised paddy in three acres. The crop when at the harvest stage was affected by the continuous rain in the area two months ago. Though he had availed of crop insurance paying a premium of Rs 1,300, he said officials failed to inspect his farm despite repeated pleas and hence he was denied of compensation. Irked by this, he set fire to the crop on his field and when the fire failed to take hold, he continued to pour fuel on it. The fire was later put out by other farmers. Agriculture department officials said that it would take one year for the insurance amount to reach a beneficiary and that Sivakumar’s fields were not affected by floods. However, his case was being looked into, they added.