A march taken out by United Democratic Front (UDF) workers led by Kodukunnil Suresh, MP, to the venue of the ‘Karuthalum Kaithangum’ taluk-level adalat at Mankombu in Kuttanad turned violent on Wednesday.
The march was in protest against the inordinate delay on the part of the State government in disbursing paddy procurement price to farmers.
The police resorted to lathi-charge as the protesters tried to overturn barricades and enter the auditorium where Agriculture Minister P. Prasad and Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian were considering complaints.
The UDF workers later blocked the Alappuzha-Changanassery road. The police arrested Mr. Suresh and others. The Mavelikara MP was later admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, after he complained of uneasiness.
Ambalappuzha Deputy Superintendent of Police Biju V. Nair, civil police officer Bindu, and several UDF activists including District Congress Committee vice-president Saji Joseph and Congress block president C.V. Rajeev suffered injuries in the scuffle. The Pulinkunnu police said that a case would be registered against around 100 people who could be identified.
Though the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation has entered into agreements with various public sector banks to clear the dues, a large number of farmers in Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts are yet to get the price of paddy procured from them in the recently concluded ‘puncha’ crop season.
