Pandemonium at farmers’ meet in Thanjai

They also sought disbursal of crop insurance and staged a walk out after they could not get prompt response from the district administration.  The meeting was chaired by district Collector A Annadurai. 

Association representatives, including Sundara Vimalnathan, Ambalapattu A Thangavel, Tholagirippatti P Thangaraj and VK Chinnadurai said, the state and Centre should bring water from Karnataka as crops, in many places including the tail-end Peravurani areas, have begun to wilt. They urged the administration to declare districts in Cauvery delta as drought-affected. 

They also carried wilted paddy crop and wore black badges as a mark of protest. Another group led by Kakkarai R Sukumaran, vice-president of the Joint Movement of TN Farmers’ Association, blackened their faces with charcoal and raised slogans demanding water to save samba crop. 

The state-level meeting of TMC farmers wing on Tuesday resolved to participate in a protest on January 29 with the participation of farmers’ associations and urged the state government to increase the number of harvesters so that the farmers need not depend on the private agencies on higher rentals. 

State and district-level office-bearers took part in the meet in which it was resolved that the Centre and state govts should insist Karnataka to release the 81 TMC of water.