TIRUCHY: Claiming that the rainwater submerged the entire crops that were either in nursery stage or in milking stage, the farmers appealed to the government to declare the entire Cauvery delta region as a natural disaster-hit region and waive the crop loans availed from Primary Cooperative Credit Societies and the public sector banks.

“This time, almost all the farmers including tenant farmers insured their crops and 18 percent of the farmers availed crop loans from Primary Cooperative Credit Societies and the rest of the farmers availed loan from the nationalised banks before the commencement of cultivation and now the entire crops had lost and so the government should write off the loans,” said Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Protection Association.

He pointed out that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) suggests pre-harvesting compensation to the crops damaged by natural calamity, pest and fungus attack.

“And the Delta region was affected after Cyclone Ditwah, and so this can be declared as a disaster-hit region and provide proper compensation to the aggrieved farmers,” he said.

He also appealed to deposit the compensation into the respective accounts of the affected farmers so that the farmers would benefit. He also demanded that the union government deploy an assessment committee for the fast enumeration and subsequent release of compensation.