Chilli growers seek immediate disbursal of insurance benefits

THOOTHUKUDI

THOOTHUKUDI

Seeking immediate disbursal of insurance benefits to chilli growers who had suffered extensive crop loss due to heavy downpour in 2020, farmers submitted petition to Collector K. Senthil Raj on Monday.

 The petitioners, led by Tamil Nadu Vivasaayigal Sangam’s district secretary P. Puviraj, said chilli farmers were yet to get insurance benefits for the crop loss while those who had planted other rain-fed crops had received the benefits. Even though the insurance company had pacified the protesting farmers with the assurance of crediting the compensation in their accounts at the earliest, chilli farmers of Pudur and Kaadalgudi villages alone had received it while others had been left out.

 “Chilli growers of Vilaathikulam, Vembar, Kulaththur and Sivagnanapuram have been wantonly ignored by the insurance company even though they had promptly paid the premium before the deadline. If the insurance company still refuses to pay the insurance benefits, we will stage a series of agitations across the district,” Mr. Puviraj said.

A group of farmers from Sivagnanapuram submitted a petition against illegal drawing of water from an irrigation tank in the village by a politically influential person. The petitioners said the farmers use the water of Maruthaanikuttam tank for raising banana, paddy, turmeric and coconut.  However, a DMK functionary was laying pipes to take water from the tank to his farm three km away from the waterbody. “When the farmers opposed it, they were threatened of dire consequences. Hence, the Collector should intervene to protect the Sivagnanapuram farmers,” said K. Balaiah, one of the petitioners.

 A group of people from Pungammaalpuram under Kuthiraimozhi village panchayat submitted petition seeking removal of a fence erected by an individual across a “common path” used by the villagers over the past several decades.

 Seeking ‘Pongal’ bonus of ₹7,000, construction and manual labourers submitted a petition to the Collector. They also appealed to the Collector to simplify the procedures for getting assistance meant for unorganized sector labourers for constructing houses under a Union government scheme.