MYSURU: With the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government set to come to power in Kerala again, far away in Mysuru, a group of farmers are eagerly waiting for his government to take oath. These farmers had supplied vegetables directly to the Kerala government during difficult times including last year’s lockdown and the floods. However, they are yet to be paid Rs 54.23 lakh that has been pending since December.
A total of 1,200 farmers from Mysuru, through their farmer producer company Raithamitra Farmers Producers, had been supplying vegetables directly to the Kerala state horticultural products development corporation.
“We had gone to great lengths to ensure there was a continuous supply of vegetables. During the lockdown last year we paid the transporters double the usual amount to transport vegetables. During the floods, we even routed them through Coimbatore and made sure they reached,” said Kurubur Shantakumar, a farmer leader who heads the FPO.
He added that during the floods, they even pooled in Rs 5 lakh from all the member farmers and donated to the Kerala CM’s relief fund. A team of farmers even went to meet the Horticorp CEO and other officials, but they were sent back.