TIRUCHY: Thanjavur farmers on Sunday staged a protest demanding compensation for the damaged summer crops due to sudden rain in the district.

According to the farmers, summer paddy was cultivated in around 40,000 acres in Papanasam, Kumbakonam, Tiruvidaimarudur, Tiruppananthal, Ammapettai and Orathanadu in Thanjavur with the support of ground water. However, due to the sudden rainfall during the third week of May, the crops in Thanjavur, Ammapettai, Orathanadu and Thiruvonam were damaged, but still, the harvest commenced in a few places in the region.

In such a backdrop, the sudden downpour across the Delta region last week, around 2,000 acres of ready for harvest crops in Ammapettai, Papanasam and Orathanadu submerged which resulted in yield loss. The farmers said that they could get only 1,800 kg of paddy instead of the usual 2,400 kg.

Similar situations prevailed at Melattur and Papanasam where cotton crop was also damaged and members of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam staged a protest on Sunday demanding proper damage assessment and compensation for the crops.

The farmers raised slogans in support of their demands by holding the damaged crops and assembling them in their fields. They also demanded the government to depute officials to assess the damage and warned that they would continue to protest until their demands are heard.