Insurance claims: Farmers demand CBI probe, held for blocking road

According to the farmers, each of them had paid a premium of Rs 870 for paddy crop in around three acres of land on November 29, 2017 at the Karuppur Primary Cooperative Society. Though the yield loss for the village has been estimated as 23.28 per cent for the village but they did not get the insurance claims. The plight of many farmers has been the same. Some farmers who paid premium for 2016-17 is also yet to get the insurance claims it is said.

Meanwhile, a group of affected farmers from Cauvery Farmers Protection Association who had announced a sit-in agitation inside the office of the Joint Registrar of cooperative societies assembled in front of the office at cooperative colony in Medical College Road. As the police personnel posted there did not allow them into the office, the farmers staged a road blockade. Following it traffic was affected and diverted.

The farmers raised slogans alleging irregularities in the disbursement of Rs 138 crore of insurance claims to the farmers and said many farmers have paid only part of their due. They wanted the payment of full amount and also demanded publishing of the list of farmers to whom the claims were paid in transparent manner in the respective Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS). They also wanted CBI inquiry into the irregularities.

Speaking among the farmers Sundara Vimalnathan, the District secretary of Cauvery Farmers Protection Association said the percentage of loss has been announced belatedly and even this amount was yet to be disbursed in the PACS across the district. He said the insurance claims due for two consecutive years should be paid to the farmers. The CBI should inquire into the alleged irregularities, he added. As the traffic was affected the police arrested the protesting farmers.