Farmers walkout from grievance redress meeting demanding complete waiver of crop loans

Farmers of Dindigul district staged a walkout during the farmers grievance redress meeting held at the Dindigul Collectorate on Friday. They demanded a complete waiver of crop loans.

Shortly after the meeting presided over by Dindigul Collector Durgamoorthi began, a section of the farmers staged a walkout urging the State government to fully waive crop loans. They also condemned the attempts made to curb the farmers’ protest in Tiruchi.

The farmers said Dindigul district should be declared as a drought-hit district. The Collector said meeting the drinking water needs of the public was of paramount importance. Necessary steps will be taken in this regard, she assured the farmers.

The farmers said the coconut trees were affected due to the drought situation. A survey should be conducted and relief should be provided to the farmers. They said water from Cauvery river should be brought to the region to meet the needs of the people. The authorities said a new scheme was under consideration to bring water to around 60 irrigation tanks.

A section of farmers complained that wild animals were entering agricultural lands in search of water. Therefore, steps should be taken to desilt the waterbodies to increase the capacity and store rainwater.

The farmers demanded that the authorities remove encroachments from waterbodies. They also urged the authorities to take necessary action against unauthorised soil extraction. The Collector told the farmers that strict action will be taken in this regard.

The Collector said the removal of seemai karuvelam (Prosopis juliflora) trees was underway across all the blocks in the district.