Tirunelveli District Collector R. Sukumar handing over a mango sapling during the farmers’ grievances redress meeting at the collectorate on Friday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
TAround 5,000 tonnes of paddy had been procured through 36 paddy direct procurement centres in the district since January, Collector R. Sukumar said.Chairing the farmers’ monthly grievances redress meeting held on Friday, he said agri and horticultural crops had been raised on 24,731 hectares – an increase of 212 hectare more than the area covered during the period between January and September, 2024 - during this year, even though the district had received deficit rainfall till September. It was possible due to the comfortable storage level in the dams. Hence, the district administration opened direct paddy procurement centres at 36 places across the district, which had so far procured 4,999 tonnes of paddy from 679 farmers.Agriculturist and vice-president of Nainarkulam Farmers’ Association Murugan said farmers had raised paddy at Nainarkulam, Kandigaiperi, Puthukkulam, Ramaiyanpatti, Azhaganeri and Thenpathu village,s which would be ready for harvest in another 30 days. Hence, the Collector should instruct the officials concerned to open a procurement centre for buying the paddy to be harvested in these villages.“An illegal paddy procurement centre functioning at Ramaiyapatti is now buying the paddy even though no harvest is going on there now. Hence, the Collector should order an inquiry into this,” Mr. Murugan said.Coordinator of Tamirabharani – Karumeniyar - Nambiyar Farmers’ Associations Maha Pauldurai said the diversion check-dam at Kariyandi beyond Moolaikaraipatti could divert 3,200 cusecs of water to Vijayanarayanam, Nambiyar and Karumaeniyar only if 3,500 cusecs of floodwater was released in the flood carrier channel starting at Vellankuzhi. Since the old bridge near Kallidaikurichi was obstructing the flow of Tamirabharni floodwater into the flood carrier channel, only 1,000 cusecs of water would reach Kariyandi and hence Vijayanarayanam, Nambiyar and Karumeniyar would not get water as per the design.Hence, the old bridge should be razed down before the onset of northeast monsoon to increase the flow of Tamirabharani surplus water into the flood carrier channel, Mr. Maha Pauldurai said.The Collector asked the officials to inspect the spot and demolish the old bridge.Farmer Abraham of Kanarpatti, while welcoming the Union Government’s GST restructuring, appealed to the Collector to recommend to the Centre to exempt the farm equipment from GST.After accepting the appeal from farmer Ilosious of Thuraiyur, Mr. Sukumar ordered the officials to remove the encroachments in Chinthankulam near Thuraiyoor.On the digitisation of the farmers’ holdings, the Collector informed that 27,638 PM Kisan and 12,981 other farmers’ details had been uploaded till September 22 last.“Since the farmers, who have uploaded these information alone can get the Union Government’s welfare assistances, I appeal to all the agriculturists to upload the information about their lands with relevant details,” he said.On the desilting of irrigation channels under the Tamirabharani and Chittar Basins, the Collector said the 53.45 km of main channels and 30.21 km-long distribution channels in Tamirabharani Basin had been desilted. Similar work had been completed in the Ervadi Uppar Odai (3 km), Saaralkulam and Vazhuthurkulam surplus water channel under Gadananadhi (3.50 Km), Vellodai under Gadananadhi (2.50 Km) and Radhapuram Channel (21.80 Km) under Gothaiyar Basin.When the farmers appealed to the Collector to expedite the granting of permission for taking silt from the dry irrigation tanks, Dr. Sukumar said 2,372 farmers had been given permission for taking silt from 755 irrigation tanks in the district while 3,410 applications were received. Hence, the remaining applications were under scrutiny, he said.The Collector said only 192 farmers had insured their crops and urged others to pay the premium before the deadlines.District Revenue Officer M. Suganya was present Published - September 26, 2025 06:24 pm IST
