Coconut oil in PDS: 25 Thanjai villages pass resolutions

TIRUCHY: As many as 25 villages from Thanjavur passed resolutions during the gram sabha meet on Tuesday pressing the government to distribute coconut oil through the PDS outlets.

Coconut has been cultivated in an area of 1.30 lakh acres at Pattukkottai, Peravurani and Orathanadu areas in Thanjavur district. After Cyclone Gaja, coconut cultivation was affected in the region and so the price also declined, which left the farmers with a huge loss as they also lost lakhs of trees in the impact of the cyclone.

In such a backdrop, the coconut farmers had been fighting for the increase in MSP and were organising a series of protests across the state. They also demanded the government to distribute coconut oil replacing palm oil in all PDS outlets. They also met Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and submitted a petition appealing to fulfill their demands.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, during the gram sabha meetings held across the region in view of Independence Day, as many as 25 villages in and around Pattukkottai, Peravurani and Orathanadu passed resolutions pressing the Union and state governments to distribute coconut oil in all PDS outlets, which would save their livelihood. They also handed over the resolution to the officials who took part in the gram sabha meets.

“The villages, including Kuruvikarambai, Marungapallam, Nadiyam, Veeriyankottai, Pallathur, Mudachikadu, Manakadu and Seruvaviduthi in the locality had passed resolutions stressing to distribute coconut oil in all the PDS outlets across the state,” said East Coast Coconut Farmers Association president Gandhi.

He also said that several lakhs of coconut farmers from across the state would benefit if the government makes decisions based on the gram sabha meetings resolution.