MADURAI: From staging a sit-in protest during the grievance meeting at the Madurai Collectorate over the District Collector's absence for a few hours to announcing a protest in Melur on Monday to demand the release of water for single crop cultivators, the farmers' grievance meeting on Friday was one filled with commotion.
Single crop farmers from Thirumangalam and Melur areas arrived at the meeting to find out that District Collector M S Sangeetha was away for an inspection. Since the farmers' main contention of water release could only be addressed by the Collector, they asked the officials to wait. They also raised slogans in the hall and staged a sit-in protest. Matters escalated after the meeting did not commence until 12.30 pm, and several farmers from the Tamil Nadu Farmers' Association, led by president Raman, staged a protest outside the Collectorate and demanded the release of water for all farmers. Collector Sangeetha arrived only past 1 pm.
Kurunji Kumaran, single-crop farmer from Melur accused the state government of discriminating against Melur farmers by not providing any water for irrigation. He said that apart from paddy, there are 20,000 hectares of banana plantations and other crops. Failing to release water as per the government order, and releasing water separately for double crop and single crop farmers in the district may lead to Melur farmers' exclusion from the water distribution process, he added.
Assuring farmers that the water available is enough for one season, Collector Sangeetha explained that double-crop farmers were getting water because they were not provided any in the first season of cultivation. Water release will be rotated between single crop and double crop farmers every 70 days, she said and pointed out the recent crops damaged in Thanjavur and Manimuthar basin areas over lack of proper calculation behind releasing water. Given the current status, she added, releasing water to single-crop farmers would be hard. "We will meet officials to discuss the details of the situation and will send a proposal to the government." the Collector said.
Several farmer leaders from Melur asked the Collector to take action and release water for the season. Farmers are assured that they can complete the season with rainwater and Vaigai water. They also stated that they do not need relief, which they are willing to submit in written if the crops fail.
Since no conclusion could be reached during the meeting, Melur farmers announced a strike at the PWD office on Monday. The meeting also witnessed a petition submitted by a Manikandan from Usilampatti area, who requested the district administration to release water from the 58th canal for drinking purposes. Later in the day, other farmers submitted a petition to the Collector seeking action on other issues.