PERAMBALUR: The 65-year-old widow of a farmer saw her entire 1.5 acres of paddy cultivation wiped out as she was allegedly providedwith herbicide instead of insecticide by a private vendor from Perambalur. Officials said they could confirm this only after inspecting the field.
Papathai lost her husband Mauthai a few years ago and was living alone. She took care of their 1.5 acres by herself and was cultivating paddy on it. She said they have been tilling the land for the past 10 years. Recently, she had bought what she thought was insecticide and two days after spraying the chemical, all her crops withered. She said when she went back to the vendor to complain, she was ignored.
On Monday, she came to the district collectorate and filed a petition demanding officials inspect her land and help her out with some compensation for the damage and action to be taken against the vendor. Pappathai said, “My husband passed away a few years ago. After my husband died, I have been farming alone. I borrowed ` 50,000 from the cooperative bank. I barely manage to make ends meet and now with my crops withered, I have to find a way to cope. The district administration should help me out with some compensation.”
When contacted, the Perambalur Agriculture Officer said, “We looked into the petition. It could be that herbicide was given to her instead of pesticide. We will inspect the field immediately and take action soon.”