Tamil Nadu - Thanjavur   

Provide fresh credit for samba cultivation: Forum

Special Correspondent

Farmers' association to organise agitations on September 12

THANJAVUR: The `Tamil Maanila Vivasaya Thozhilalar Sangam' has appealed to the Government to provide fresh credit immediately to farmers of Cauvery delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam so that they might take up samba cultivation.

R. Mutharasan, its general secretary, told presspersons here on Sunday that farmers had been suffering a lot during the past four years owing to drought conditions and they were not in a position to repay their old loans. At present, the cooperative banks have stipulated that fresh loans will be given only when the borrowers had repaid at least the principal, if not the interest, for their loans. As the farmers were not in a position even to repay the principal of old loans, they should be given fresh credit without any conditions. They should be given Rs.8,000 per acre as loan, Mr. Mutharasan said.

He said all welfare measures announced by the Government for farm labourers and small and marginal farmers should be implemented through the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Labourers Welfare Board, which has 7.32 lakh farm labourers as members.

The Kolappan Committee made 43 recommendations for the welfare of farm labourers. The State Government has not implemented its recommendations.

He said the Government should take steps to implement the new wages announced by it for agriculture labourers. On July 8 last, the Government announced Rs.80 as wage for men for six hours, and Rs.70 for women for five hours. Adequate publicity should be given to this announcement and landowners and others should be made to implement them, he said.

Our association will organise agitations at district headquarters on September 12 to press for our demands.

We will also participate in the nationwide general strike announced by trade unions urging central Government to implement an integrated central law for agriculture labourers, right to strike etc, on September 29, he said.

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