Kuruvai failure: Delta ryots seek Rs 15,000 per acre compensation

TIRUCHY: The State government should declare the Cauvery Delta as drought hit region and distribute a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre, said PR Pandian, president, Coordination Committee of All Farmers Association here on Monday.

He stated that the demand will be put forward during the conference meeting scheduled in Tiruvarur on July 25. Before that, protest rallies will be held across the region from July 22.

Speaking to reporters at Mannargudi in Thiruvarur, Pandian said, the Delta farmers have completely lost kuruvai cultivation due to water scarcity, and the samba cultivation has also become a question, and the farmers are left in a state of frustration.

Against such a scenario, the El Nino attack is said to damage the entire region. “So it is time, the State government declares the Cauvery Delta as drought hit region and distributes compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre as it was followed during the former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s regime,” Pandian pointed out.

He also pointed out that the farmers who lost kuruvai are skeptical to go ahead with the samba cultivation, and so the government should distribute a samba incentive of Rs 20,000 per acre, which would support them to compensate for the loss. He also appealed to the government to make a fresh crop loan waiver announcement and direct the officials not to force the farmers to repay.

He said that a campaign rally is scheduled across the Delta region from July 22, which would reach Tiruvarur on July 25, where a state-level conference for various demands, including declaring the Delta as drought hit region.