CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the Tamil Nadu government to directly procure Pongal sugarcane from farmers and distribute two sugarcanes per family as part of the Pongal gift hamper.
In a statement, Anbumani said with barely two weeks left for the Pongal festival, the state government is yet to announce details about the Pongal gift package or clarify whether sugarcane will be included. This uncertainty has caused deep anxiety among farmers who cultivated paneer karumbu (tender sugarcane), hoping it would be procured for Pongal distribution, he added.
He explained that cultivating sugarcane costs farmers up to Rs 2.25 lakh per acre, including planting, maintenance, harvesting, and labour costs. Despite this, farmers receive only Rs 18 – Rs 19 per cane, even though the government had announced a procurement price of Rs 35 per cane, inclusive of costs. Middlemen pocket a large share, often taking 10% of the produce for free and charging high transport and handling fees. As a result, farmers earn virtually no profit, while intermediaries allegedly make massive gains.
Anbumani also criticised impractical procurement norms, such as accepting only sugarcane over seven feet tall, which leads to rejection of large quantities. Further, distributing only one sugarcane per family goes against Tamil tradition and reduces demand, worsening farmer losses.
He noted that the sugarcane cultivation area has sharply declined over the last five years due to continuous losses. To protect farmers, he demanded that the government increase the procurement price to Rs 50 per cane, procure sugarcane directly without middlemen, and supply two sugarcanes per family for Pongal.
In another statement, Anbumani said that even before shock and panic subsided over the brutal attack on a migrant worker by four intoxicated minors at Tiruttani railway station, another violent incident had occurred at the same location. Jamal, a saree trader, was allegedly assaulted in a drunken state by four youths. The back-to-back drug-fuelled attacks at the same railway station highlight the DMK government's failure to curb the spread of ganja and alcohol, the statement said.
CPM urges inclusion of jaggery in gift hamper
Chennai: CPM state secretary P Shanmugam on Wednesday appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to enhance the Pongal gift hamper distributed through fair price shops by including one kg of jaggery and ensuring that sugarcane is procured directly from farmers. He said Pongal kits containing rice, sugar and sugarcane have been provided every year to family card holders to help them celebrate the harvest festival. With expectations rising among the public and farmers this year, he urged the government to address their demands while announcing the scheme. Direct procurement of cane from cultivators would support farmers and remove intermediaries, he added.