District Collector Sharanya Ari addressing farmers at the grievance redress meeting held at Virudhunagar Collectorate on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A group of farmers claimed that they have been waiting for the free electricity since 2002 and urged the district administration to inform whether they would get the power or not with which they would be able to carry out their activities here on Friday.
Speaking at the farmers’ grievance redress meeting held at the Virudhunagar Collectorate, chaired by District Collector Sharanya Ari, the farmers said that the electricity department (Tangedco) officials had given wiring connections and even fitted motors, but had not given the electricity connection till date.
A little over 240 farmers were waiting since 2002, they said and appealed to the Collector to intervene into the issue.
An official from the Tangedco said that under the free electricity scheme, they have received applications from eligible farmers in the district. After scrutiny, they were releasing the connections in phases. Beyond this, the official did not provide any data, which irked the farmers. However, the Collector assured to examine the progress and respond to the applicants soon.
Wild boar menace
Demanding the forest department officials to cull wild boar menace, which destroyed the crops in Vijayakarisalkulam near Vembakottai, the farmers said that they were thoroughly disgusted and disappointed as the government had not done anything tangible in this regard.
When some officials assured to get the insurance claims, the farmers rejected the idea stating that the claims were not at all settled in a ‘fair’ manner. The permanent solution would be culling the wild boars, which was in vogue in Keralam.
The officials said that there were some changes being made in the insurance policies and soon the claims would be settled without delay when the farmers complained about delay for the corn crop loss in their farms.
Alluvial soil
When farmers claimed that the officials at the offices of Tahsildars in Srivilliputtur, Rajapalayam and Watrap were sitting on their applications seeking permission to lift the alluvial soil from the PWD and panchayat tanks for over three months, there was commotion.
Intervening, the officials said that they had just completed data collection with the help of officials from the Department of Statistics. Soon, the orders would be issued to eligible farmers to lift the soil as per the government order.
The farmers stressed to release it swiftly before the NE Monsoon as it would benefit them in a big way. If the rain starts, lifting of soil from the tanks would not be possible. The Collector assured to expedite the process.
Published – September 25, 2026 07:26 pm IST
