PERAMBALUR/ARIYALUR: Farmers who gathered to attend the monthly grievance meeting at the Collectorate staged a walkout on Friday after not finding Collector P Sri Venkata Priya in attendance. They also staged a dharna on the premises over various demands.
The farmers' grievance day meeting headed by the Collector would usually be held every month between 10 am and 2 pm at the Collectorate. While it was held on Friday, it was presided over by District Revenue Officer N Angayarkanni instead, and not the Collector. Finding no trace of her until 12 pm, the farmers walked out of the meeting and staged a dharna.
All India Agricultural Workers Association district secretary P Ramesh said that the Collector’s itinerary shouldn’t include any other plans when the grievance day meeting is fixed. “The Collector does not attend the meeting regularly by marking it in her itinerary and instead gives importance to other events,” he claimed.
Pointing to how the meeting is the first after the State’s Agriculture Budget, he further claimed that the Collector doesn’t show the willingness to listen to their grievances.
Tamil Nadu Farmers Association district secretary N Chelladurai said, "The authorities do not allow us to voice out our grievances completely in the meeting. They do not answer our questions properly. Even if the Collector attends meeting she will come late. They end the meeting in a hurry without giving us time to air our grievances."
A meeting was later held with a few farmers in which the Collector took part. While the Collector was unavailable for comment, her personal clerk Muthumurugan expressed ignorance of her attendance in the meeting. Meanwhile, the Ariyalur Collectorate the same day held the farmers' grievance meeting that was presided over by District Collector P Ramana Saraswathi.