TIRUNELVELI

Collector V. Vishnu has assured that the farmers, who had suffered paddy and black gram crop loss, would get insurance benefits within 45 days if they had paid the insurance premium for the crops before the deadline.

 Addressing the farmers’ grievance meet on Friday, he said though the affected farmers had applied for compensation, the applications of 1,777 black gram farmers and 88 paddy growers were kept in abeyance due to want of more information. After the information required by the insurance company was submitted by the officials, all these applications were accepted and were under consideration.

When the farmers complained that they had to give Rs. 40 a bag to the lorry drivers and the load men in the paddy procurement centres, he assured them of steps to stop this unlawful practice.

 Farmers from Soundarapandiapuram and Adangaarkulam informed the Collector that they were carrying out farming operations for several decades on the land belonging to Sri Nithyakalyani Amman Temple in Radhapuram after taking it on lease. Even though they were paying the amount properly, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department, which was collecting the amount from the farmers, had stopped collecting the amount citing the reason that the lands were to be auctioned for using it for other purposes.

 “If the lands are auctioned by the HR and CE Department, our livelihood will be completely wiped out. The Collector should intervene to ensure the livelihood of the farmers,” appealed the agriculturists from Adangaarkulam and Soundarapandiapuram.

He assured the farmers that the Sub-Collector, Cheranmahadevi would convene a special meeting with the officials of HR and CE Department to find out a viable solution.

Alleging that unidentified persons were roaming around within the Kalakkad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, vice-president of Tamil Nadu Vivasaayigal Sangam P. Perumbadaiyar said the strangers had entered the sanctuary in search of precious stones along the Western Ghats including diamond.

 “When the movement of strangers inside the KMTR was noticed by the farmers who raised the issue in the past subsequent investigations conducted by the officials concluded that they had trespassed into the forest in search of diamonds. We suspect that the gang has returned to their illegal business through the porous points of the KMTR. The district administration and the KMTR officials should take due steps to check the infiltration of the suspects,” he said.

Mr. Vishnu assured the farmers that he would personally take up this issue with the KMTR officials and take appropriate protective measures.

 Joint Director of Agriculture David Dennison said the Department of Agriculture had taken all efforts to ensure the uninterrupted supply of quality seeds and other inputs including chemical fertilizers through the primary agriculture cooperative societies and the private traders during the ‘pisanam’ paddy season. Surprise checks were being conducted in the wholesale and retail fertilizer shops to avert sale of inputs at inflated price.

Under the All Village Integrated Agriculture Development Programme, 5 deep borewells had been sunk in as many arid land clusters and 2,625 Kg ‘Vamban 8’ black gram seeds given to 525 farmers for cultivating it on 525 hectares – i.e. 5 kg per hectare.

He said that ‘Thanga Samba’, ‘Karunkuruvai’ and ‘Authoor kichadi samba’ paddy seeds had been stocked in the extension centres to be sold to at the rate of Rs. 12.50 per kg. “Each farmer will be given 20 kg seed per hectare,” Mr. Dennison said, informing that soya bean would be cultivated on 100 hectares in the district.

 He said inferior quality seeds worth Rs. 34.50 lakh, weighing about 17.50 tonnes, had been banned for sale.