The frustration over delay in clearing the dues of paddy procurement continues to boil over with support pouring in for the distraught farmers from different quarters.
As part of intensifying the protests in this connection, the United Democratic Front (UDF) on Tuesday laid siege to the office of the District Paddy Marketing Officer in Kottayam. The strike, which began around 10.30, was called off following the intervention of senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, who discussed the issue with the Minister for Civil Supplies G.R. Anil over phone.
According to the UDF leaders, the strike was withdrawn on an assurance by the Minister to clear the dues within the next four days.
Commenting on the issue, Mr. Radhakrishnan urged the State government to avoid the situation of farmers lining up in front of the banks with an application to collect the money. Instead, the Civil Supplies Corporation should avail the loans directly from the banks and give it to the farmers.
“If the government defaults on repayment of this loan, it may push the farmers further deep into the debt trap they are already in,”’ he said.
Secretariat protest
Meanwhile, a group of farmers under the aegis of the Paddy Farmers Protection Council in Kuttanad is slated to stage a day-long protest in front of the State secretariat in Thiruvanathapuram on Wednesday.
As per official estimates, the authorities are yet to clear a bulk of the ₹1,876-crore dues to the paddy farmers during the 2022-23 season. Of this, the farmers from Alappuzha are yet to receive over ₹300 crore while the amount due to farmers in Kottayam, which comprises North Kuttanad and parts of Upper Kuttanad, is around ₹100 crores. The farmers of the Upper Kuttanad region of Pathanamthitta, meanwhile, are awaiting pending payment to the tune of ₹31.52 lakh.
The delay in paying up the dues, according to farmers, is severely affecting their preparations for the monsoon cropping season. Left with no other options, they are being forced to approach the private moneylenders.
