CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday demanded the state government to distribute seeds, fertilizer and extend crop loans to farmers ahead of the samba season.
After two years of insufficient water supply to the farmers in the Delta region, the Karnataka government was forced to discharge surplus water from the reservoirs this season due to intensified rainfall. On July 27, the water level breached 100 feet in Mettur reservoir. However, the DMK government did not distribute seeds of short and long-term varieties of rice to the farmers, he said in a statement.
The AIADMK general secretary demanded the government to immediately distribute seeds to take up cultivation. It should also guarantee the availability of fertilizers and facilitate crop loans to farmers, who were unable to repay the previous loans on time, he said.
Palaniswami highlighted the plight of the farmers in the last two years due to insufficient water supply to raise the crops and said the government should take appropriate measures to store the water released from Mettur dam in water bodies in the Delta region. It should take measures to desilt and strengthen the water carriageways, including channels, keep the system in place to take water to the tail end users, he added.