MADURAI: The farmers in Madurai have staged a walkout for the second consecutive time from the agricultural grievance meeting in protest against the district administration for not releasing adequate volume of river water for irrigation purposes. Meanwhile, in Melur on Friday, AIADMK cadre led by MLA Rajan Chellappa staged a protest pressing the state government to release water for the benefit of Melur farmers.
When the grievance meeting began on Friday itself, the farmers from Melur and Thirumangalam asked District Collector M S Sangeetha why water was not yet released for the benefit of single-crop farmers. The collector replied that a case regarding the matter is pending in the court, and proper action will be taken as per the court directions. However, the farmers were not satisfied with the response and a commotion ensued. Subsequently, they staged a walkout from the meeting as was done during the last grievance meeting on November 24.
Single crop farmers in the region have been holding demonstrations for the past two months demanding adequate release of water from Periyar and Vaigai reservoirs. Vaigai-Thirumangalam canal farmers association leader M P Raman told TNIE, "Despite high storage levels in the dams, the state government and the district administration are not helping out the farmers. We have staged over 50 protests demanding water for irrigation, but no action has ensued."
The Melur farmers said they commenced cultivation when the river water was initially released for 10 days. "But, the dam shutters were not opened after that. Our crops are in desperate need of irrigation at present, and so we request the authorities to address our issue," they added.
Later in the day, Thiruparangundram MLA Rajan Chellappa led AIADMK members and farmers in a massive protest in Melur demanding the authorities to release water for single crop farmers. They alleged that water was only provided to double crop farmers during this season.