Stop dumping soil on paddy fields, orders Thanjai Collector

TIRUCHY: After farmers continued to protest against the highway project, the Thanjavur Dstrict Collector ordered to stop the filling of soil onto the paddy fields temporarily at Kandiyur in Tiruvaiyaru on Saturday.

As the bypass project destroys the paddy fields in which samba cultivation is underway, the farmers from Kandiyur and its adjacent villages including Manakarambai, Arasur, Kattukkottai and Perumpuliyur staged a series of protests demanding to withdraw the project along the paddy fields.

Despite the stiff opposition by the farmers, the officials continued to fill soil on the fields from Friday which accelerated the protest in the region and farmers from various places expressed their solidarity to their protest.

Meanwhile on Saturday, the farmer leader PR Pandian who joined the protest said that the bypass project was essential in the region but instead of destroying the cultivable lands, the officials should evict the encroachments along the existing road and widen it for the project.

Pandian also termed it to be illegal to destroy the field where the samba has been cultivated and ready for harvest within a couple of months. On information, the Tiruvaiyaru Tahsildhar Palaniappan along with police rushed to the spot and invited the agitating farmers for a talk with the District Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver at the Collectorate.

The farmer representatives led by Pandian went to the collectorate and participated in the talk. The Collector who heard the grievances of the farmers ordered to stop the work temporarily and resume it only after discussing with the farmers.

As the collector ordered to stop the works, the farmers who were undergoing an indefinite hunger strike withdrew their protest.