Farmers complain of shortage of workers during samba cultivation

A farmer presents his point of view at the monthly grievance redress meeting at the District Collectorate in Tiruchi on Friday.
| Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY

With samba cultivation picking up in Tiruchi district, farmers have urged the State government to allow deployment of workers of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) for agriculture work.

Raising the issue at the monthly grievance meeting chaired by Collector M. Pradeep Kumar here on Friday, a cross-section of farmers complained of severe shortage of farmhands during the peak cultivation season.

Drawing attention of the Collector to the issue, M.P. Chinnadurai, district president, Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, complained that there was a shortage of farmhands across the district and a similar situation prevailed across the State. “It is time the MNREGS workers were deployed for agriculture work to overcome the situation,” he said and suggested that the number of work days for the beneficiaries be increased to 150 from 100 a year.

P. Viswanathan, president, Tamil Nadu Eri Mattrum Attru Pasana Vivasayigal Sangam, urged the district administration to suspend the MNREGS work during the cultivation season in view of the severe shortage of farm labour. As they were unable to find workers in time, many farmers applied excess weedicides, he said.

Although samba cultivation had a late start in the district, availability of fertilizers, pesticides, and labour were immediate needs of farmers, said Ayilai Siva Suriyan, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the CPI. Deploying MNREGS workers for agriculture work would help ease the situation. They could be deployed for removing silt/weeds from branch irrigation channels which was preventing water flow to tail-end areas, he said.

V. Chidambaram, also district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the CPI (M), regretted that despite widespread rain during monsoon, most waterbodies had not received good inflow as the inlet channels were clogged. He suggested that MNREGS workers should be used to clear the channels.

N. Veerasekaran, State Secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Sangam, called for releasing at least 15,000 cusecs from the Mettur dam to ensure water reached that the tail-end areas.