ALAPPUZHA: Farmers in Kuttanad have decided to launch an agitation seeking compensation promised by the State Government following the delay in paddy procurement and to speed up the payment by the Civil Supplies Department for the procured crop.

The farmers, who met under the aegis of the Kuttanad Vikasana Samithy (KVS) and Farm Net here on Tuesday, decided to begin the agitation with a Collectorate March on May 22. A dharna would also be staged in front of the Collectorate the same day.

Apart from compensation, the demands also include compensation for the damage caused by the Venkanni disease in the D-Block and re-imbursement of Rs.84 lakh that the farmers had spent from their pockets to maintain the bunds in the paddy fields.

The delay in procurement, as per Government statistics, had caused a damage of around Rs.82 lakh. However, the amount was yet to be paid to the farmers even after the Chief Minister and a team of Ministers had assured this in mid-April. The Venkanni disease had caused a damage of nearly Rs.1 crore, the farmers said.

"More than 70 per cent of the farmers here are those who had taken land on lease for cultivation after taking loans under the Government's Annapurna scheme. However, with the compensation not being paid and the prices for the procured paddy also being delayed, the loan repayment had been affected and the interest was mounting," KVS executive director Thomas Peelianickal told the meeting. The Collectorate march would begin at 10 a.m. from the Bhattathiripad Purayidam.

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