Farmers urge government to procure sugarcane directly

Farmers in Madurai district urged the State government to directly procure sugarcane from the farmers, for the pongal hamper, for distribution to eligible ration card holders through ration shops.

At the farmers’ grievances redress meeting held on Thursday at the Collectorate, presided over by Madurai Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar, the farmers demanded that coconut also be directly procured from them.

They said it should be ensured that the sugarcane was procured on time from the farmers and not at the last minute. The farmers once again raised complaints about the various irregularities at the Direct Procurement Centres (DPC) in the district.

A section of farmers urged the authorities to release adequate water for irrigation and ensure that it reached the tail end areas of the district. Desilting of the waterbodies should be taken up, they said.

Farmers from Kallanai in Kalligudi taluk objected to new quarry operations. They demanded that permissions should not be granted for operating quarries and crusher units in their village and the other nearby areas. It was affecting the environment, they said.

Existing quarries should be closed and no permissions should be granted to new ones, they said, adding that they were affected by the quarry operations. They and the livestock were suffering from health issues due to indiscriminate quarry operations which were taking place beyond the permissible limit, the farmers complained.

The Vaigai Tirumangalam Main Canal Water Users Farmers Association urged the authorities to remove the encroachments on the canal in Chellampatti. The farmers also urged the authorities to take steps to repair damaged shutters.