Chennai, May 15 Paddy farmers in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district have demanded compensation after 600 acres of crop were destroyed in an unexpected summer rain and also threatened to hold protests in case their demand is not fulfilled.
While 600 acres of paddy crops were lost in the Chellampatti region of Madurai, several farmers of Melur and Usilampatti regions in the district, who were involved in the summer paddy cultivation, also lost heavily in the rain.
Paddy, one of the major crops cultivated in Madurai, covers over 50,000 hectares of cultivable land in the district across multiple seasons, including the Samba, Kuruvai and Summer paddy cultivation.
K.M. Mutharasan, a farmer leader while speaking to IANS said, ”Myself and my two brothers have cultivated in around 9.35 acres of paddy farming. We spent around Rs 35,000 per acre and have lost around Rs 3.25 lakh due to this.”
He added that the harvesting of crops was only 20 days away when heavy rain destroyed the crops.
R. Ramesan, a farmer in Chellampatti told IANS that the state agricultural department should enumerate the crop damage and provide compensation.
Madurai district paddy farmers welfare association leader, Kumaresan Thevar while speaking to IANS said, "The paddy farmers of Madurai have suffered huge losses. Every farmer, who was about to harvest his crop, lost heavily due to the unexpected rain. We have demanded the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Department and the state government to compensate us. If they don't give compensation in a few days, we will be forced to hold protests and agitations including roadblocks as we don't have any other options left."
He also said many farmers had taken money to cultivate paddy as loans from banks and even loan sharks.
Tamil Nadu agricultural department officials told IANS that it deputed block-level officials to assess the crop losses in Chellampatti.
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