The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Declare Wayanad as distress-affected district

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 28, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Declare Wayanad as distress-affected district

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The State Agricultural Debt Relief Commission has recommended to the Government to declare Wayanad as distress-affected in view of the severe agrarian crisis being faced by the district.

This was announced by Commission Chairman Justice K.A. Abdul Gafoor while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday. Agricultural Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran and the Commission members were present.

Mr. Gafoor said pepper, coffee, banana, rice and areca nut were among the major crops that were being cultivated in Wayanad, and the farmers engaged in all these crops were facing severe crisis because of issues like fall in prices, diseases and low productivity.

The farmers who had taken loans for agricultural and other purposes were being pushed into debt traps as they were unable to repay the loans.

Many farmers were finding suicides as the sole way to end their tale of woes in such a crisis situation.

It was in this context that the Commission had recommended to the Government to declare Wayanad as distress-affected, he said.

He said when an area was declared distress-affected the individual farmers would not need to submit separate documents to claim the various reliefs announced by the Government for distress-affected farmers.

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