Mention crop failure in FIR on ryots’ deaths: Pandian

The Coordinator of the Federation PR Pandian urged the state police here to register the deaths of farmers as death due to water shortage in the FIRs.Addressing a meeting organised by the district farmers, PR Pandian who reacted to the BJP’s State unit claim that farmers are biased in accusing only the BJP government over Cauvery dispute but silent on accusing the Congress party, campaigners said that the previous Congress government at least notified the final award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in gazette but the ruling BJP has been refraining from its duty in constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). “How can we keep silent”, asked Pandian. According to the organisers, the campaign sensitizsng the farmers had commenced from Kanyakumari on November 5 stressing the troubles faced by farmers across the State from Palaru to Thamirabarani due to the various water disputes between neighbouring States. On Tuesday, the team which reached Tiruchy visited the paddy cultivation taken up through direct sowing at Chinnakulam village near Vayalur in an area of 500 acre but they withered without adequate irrigation facility. The Central government that failed to provide adequate water for Tamil Nadu farmers should at least sanction adequate funds to be provided as compensation for the crop failure. Later, Pandian urged the state police to register the deaths of farmers in the FIR with a mention of death due to shock after water scarcity. The farmers who are likely to conclude their campaign at Chennai on November 10 also sought the Central government to sanction funds for distributing at least `25,000 per acre as compensation for the drought hit farmers here.

It is said, Navaneedhan (70) owns about two acres of land at Keezhakaavaalakudi village which is located near Kilvelur. As the Samba seeds he had sown did not germinate, Navaneethan raised Samba seedlings at a farmland leased from Rajkumar by using the water of a nearby pond. Though the seedlings were supposed to be transplanted after the germination, he could not continue due to water scarcity as the inflow of Cauvery in the Maruvathoor Shutter was too poor. Subsequently, Naveneedhan waited for the North-East monsoon to pick up but the monsoon had almost faulted which had him worried.  On Monday at around 9 pm, the family noted Navaneedhan did not move in his bed. They rushed him to GH where he was pronounced brought dead. Navaneedhan was also hiring pumping motors for watering the land but he could not continue with it as it cost Rs 200 per hour in the locality. The entire farming community in the region was upset and dejected as the death toll has touched five so far.