Tamil Nadu: Big protest by farmers in southern districts

Madurai: Thousands of farmers from Madurai and neighbouring districts staged protests on Wednesday demanding the State government to declare Tamil Nadu as drought-hit.

Stating that paddy cultivated in nearly 40,000 acres in double crop areas in Chellampatti and Alanganallur blocks were hit due to lack of rainfall, the members of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, who organised a waiting protest (Kathiruppu Porattam) attempted to enter the collectorate to submit a petition to the Madurai collector Veera Raghava Rao.

However, when the police restricted their entry, it resulted in skirmish between the police and the farmers. Though the police arrested around 175 farmers and kept them in a marriage hall, the farmers continued their protest there.

“Rainfall this year was an all time low in our district with storage level in Vagai standing at 24 feet. We have received only around 500 mm rainfall against the average of 874 mm,” said T Chellakannu, state committee members of All Indian Kisan Sabha.

“Farmers cultivated paddy in the double crop areas spent nearly Rs 30,000 per acre of land hoping to get water from the irrigation Channel during the Northeast Monsoon. But now cracks have started appearing in their land due to acute water scarcity,” he said.

The farmers had spent more money on pesticides and for paying labourers to cultivate the crops. “Unless the government pays a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre, we all will be forced to migrate from the district,” said Pandi, a farmer.

Thousand acres of dry land were also left uncultivated in the district. “Farmers in T Kallikud, Usilampatti, Thiruparankundram, Sedapatti blocks who grow millets in the dry land, are suffering to meet their daily needs,” said the farmers.

The situation is the same in Dindigul and Theni districts. “Due to scarcity of water, paddy cultivated in 85,000 acres of wet land has been damaged,” said Sachidanandam, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, Dindigul.

The farmers’ who depend on livestock for their livelihood, were forced to spend Rs 30, 000 for a load of straw to feed the cattle. “They have to transport a load of straw from Theni district which will be sufficient for ten cattle only a week,” he said.

In Theni district, nearly 30,000 wells have dried up which has affected paddy cultivation in thousands of acres. As water level in Periyar dam has come down to 111 feet, the farmers in Cumbum Valley are also finding it difficult to cultivate crops. The farmers also demand the government to pay Rs 10,000 per acre for dry land to arrest migration.