Farmers Protest with Black Badges Over Unfulfilled Loan Waiver and Payment Delays
Hundreds of farmers staged a silent protest by wearing black badges during a farmers’ grievance redress meeting held on Thursday. The protest highlighted several unresolved issues, including unfulfilled crop loan waivers, water mismanagement, and payment delays for government-procured paddy.
The farmers, who arrived wearing black badges on their shirts, condemned the State administration for failing to honour political commitments. “In accordance with the election promise of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, the cooperative crop loans of farmers should be completely waived,” said farmer Thirupathi.
Another farmer, Pon. Manikandan, raised concerns about critical engineering flaws in local water distribution. He argued that under the 58-village canal scheme, a vital 27 km canal needs urgent widening and heightening to handle a flow of 316 cusecs of water. Manikandan alleged that authorities were ‘wasting funds’ by spending ₹8 crore to excavate silt from the Keeripatti tank and renovate its right bank canal, which he claimed was already in good condition. He demanded the funds be diverted to neglected branch canals and the Paraipatti tank check dam to maximise storage capacity.
In response, Collector Nishant Krishna issued a direction to officials to stop the silt excavation work at Keeripatti tank. He instructed them to hold a meeting under the leadership of the Sub-Collector to decide on the matter.
Farmer Parthasarathy revealed that several crores of rupees owed to farmers for paddy procured through the National Cooperation Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) remain unpaid, leaving families in deep financial distress. Other farmers, including Manavalakannan and Seetharaman, pointed out that the government’s Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) for paddy were opened far too late this season. Seetharaman further alleged irregularities and corruption at these centres.
The Collector announced that a dedicated grievance meeting would be held on July 10 to focus exclusively on systemic issues related to government paddy procurement.
Additionally, farmer Raman highlighted a crippling shortage at the Vikramangalam Powerhouse. He noted that while 16 wiremen used to service the area, the workforce dwindled to just one, who officially retired yesterday, leaving the facility effectively unstaffed. The District Revenue Officer promised immediate relief by transferring wiremen from neighbouring Chekkanurani, as recalled by Raman.
