NAGAPATTINAM/MAYILADUTHURAI: Farmers have requested the Central team to provide more relief than what was given after cyclone Burvei in December. The team, consisting of Dr Paul Pandian, Fisheries Development Commissioner, Shubam Garg, Assistant Director of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Rananjay Singh, Regional Officer of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, visited six villages in Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts on Friday and inspected crops affected by unseasonal rain.
Nagapattinam Collector Praveen P Nair and Mayiladuthurai Collector R Lalitha assisted the team. “So much has happened since the government provided relief for cyclone Burevi in December. The rain damaged crops and even those that survived (straw) could not be used to feed cattle. We are also not able to cultivate short-term paddy or pulses.
Compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare is not sufficient; we need Rs 30,000,” said G Gopiganesan, a farmer-representative from Sembanarkoil block in Mayiladuthurai district. Farmers expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s ‘delayed’ visit and insufficient relief even after multiple visits by State government officials.
“The Collector visited first, then the CM, and now the Central team. The damage has varied with each visit and relief should be increased,” said S Sridhar, a farmer-representative from Keezhaiyur block in Nagapattinam district, adding that interior villages still haven’t been inspected.
The officials took stock of the damage in Vellapallam in Thalaignayiru block, Karunganni in Keezhaiyur block and Palaiyur in Nagapattinam block in the morning, and in Thiruvilaiyattam, Ketipalayam (Thillaiyadi panchayat) and Annappanpettai (Akkur Pandaravadai panchayat), in Sembanarkoil block, in Mayiladuthurai district in the afternoon.
They also inspected groundnut crops in Vellapallam and Ketipalayam and paddy in the rest of the six villages. “We told the Central team every farmer has sustained about 90 per cent of crop damage. Fingers are crossed about their recommendations,” said S Panneerselvam, deputy director of the Agriculture department.