Kuttanad: End apathy, farmers tell government

Alappuzha: The bird flu and the consequent government decision to  cull over  two lakh ducks have almost wiped out the seasonal business worth  Rs 10 crore  in Kuttanad. The farmers are yet to get the compensation of  Rs 200 per duck announced by Animal Husbandry Minister  K.Raju  after a visit to the affected places on  November 2. The farmers had sought interest-free bank loans, free ration and compensation of Rs 300 per matured duck and Rs 150 for those aged below 60 days.  But no action has been taken though  culling operations are almost over.

Mr B. Rajasekaran, state president, All-Kerala Duck Farmers’ Society, said  they had submitted a memorandum seeking among other things  insurance for ducks and subsidies for duck farming to  the previous and present governments.  But  the authorities have ignored them, he said.     Without government aid,  the traditional industry will not  survive, he said and complained that  the government had no proper details of duck farmers scattered across Kuttanad.  

In 2014,  the government had tried to get their details from a few places like  Mankompu, Pallipad and Edathua. Mr Samuel Pallipad, state secretary of the society,  demanded the payment of compensation at the earliest and said  a regularisation policy should be implemented among farmers. The maximum number of ducks a farmer can rear should be limited to 10,000.  He also asked the government to include duck farming in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.