Farmers from Thiruvadanai block thronged the Collectorate here on Monday carrying bunches of withered paddy crops and appealed to the Collector to help them to get compensation for the loss of crops.

The farmers said more than 150 farmers, who had cultivated paddy on 1,500 acres in Vettukulam and surrounding villages in Sozhandur region, lost their crops for want of water at the terminal stage.

They cultivated 110 days-old paddy varieties such as IR 36 and CO 47 but could not save them for want of water at the terminal stage. The northeast monsoon was fairly good in several other parts of the district but totally failed in the Thiruvadanai region, K. Ramadoss, a farmer, who had been in cultivation for nearly 20 years, said.

Paddy cultivated on all the 1,500 acres withered, he said and urged the district administration to pay a compensation of Rs.25,000 per acre. Stating that most of the farmers had insured their crops, A. Sandhiyagu, another farmer from the village, said the district administration should also help them to secure the crop insurance, besides providing them drought relief.

The farmers had spent about Rs.20,000 per acre and they would be able to take up cultivation in the next season only if they were adequately compensated, the farmers said.

Source - thehindu.com