Chennai: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami has urged that the TVK government should immediately abandon its practice of playing with the hunger of the people, fully procure the paddy harvested by farmers, and protect farmers.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said, “The TVK coalition government led by Vijay, which has been perfectly carrying out the business of deceiving and surviving for the past four months, is cheating people from all walks of life by following the principle of saying one thing and doing another.
The government did not release water into the Cauvery at the right time for kuruvai cultivation, making it impossible to carry out kuruvai cultivation fully, and did not take any steps to alleviate the farmers’ hardship. The government promised to fully waive farmers’ crop loans, but then deceived the farmers.
The people have begun to realize that this false-legged government, which boasted that it would restore the law and order that had deteriorated in Tamil Nadu during the previous regime, now stands bewildered, not knowing what to do, as criminal incidents continue to rise like a runaway horse. This government, which does not know how to properly run the machinery of governance and is wringing its hands out of inexperience, has neither the wisdom to speak nor the wisdom to act.
I had explained in detail in the last Assembly session that in many areas, including the Cauvery delta districts, the paddy harvested was not purchased on time by the government’s direct paddy procurement centers, causing it to sprout and go to waste, and the hard work of the farmers who labored so much was being wasted.
I urged this government to take appropriate action to prevent paddy grains from sprouting and going to waste in the open due to rainwater flooding. At that time, farmers said that the TVK ministers merely gave replies in an attempt to pacify the legislators who were pointing out the shortcomings, and did not take any proper steps to protect the paddy grains that were being wasted.
News reports have said that due to the sudden rains over the past few days in delta districts including Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam, paddy crops cultivated on about 2,000 acres of land have been submerged in rainwater and damaged.
In various parts of Tamil Nadu, including the delta districts of Thanjavur - Manampadi, Nallிச்சேரி and several other areas, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, and Erode district’s Gobichettipalayam, thousands of paddy sacks brought by farmers to direct paddy procurement centers over the past few days had been piled up along the roadside without being fully procured. As a result, they have been soaked and ruined by the rain that has been falling over the past few days, causing farmers heavy losses.
Mayiladuthurai district: Around 20,000 paddy sacks have been damaged in areas including Nalathukudi, Vazhuvur, and Kolangudi.
Cuddalore District: Virudhachalam - Rajendrapattinam - around 10,000 paddy sacks have been damaged.
Kanchipuram District: Near Salavakkam, Melperumanallur - around 20,000 paddy sacks have been damaged.
Chengalpattu District: Achirupakkam - Thozhuppedu - open-air paddy procurement center - around 50,000 metric tons of paddy have been soaked in the rain and damaged.
Like saying we will bend the sky into a bow, bring the stars down to earth, and give light to the people, this government should stop making empty promises that it will do everything impossible, starting now.
The rice distributed free of cost at fair price shops is what relieves the hunger of poor and ordinary people. We cannot accept this government’s attitude of watching the paddy grains that can serve as the source of that rice go to waste.
I urge the sports model TVK government to immediately abandon this tendency of playing with people’s hunger, fully procure the paddy produced by farmers, and protect the farmers,” he said.
