The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Farmers boycott ‘Uzhavar Santhai’

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Thursday, Jan 21, 2010
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Farmers boycott ‘Uzhavar Santhai’

Staff Reporter

Photo: N. Bashkaran.

Official indifference: Farmers put up shops outside ‘Uzhavar Santhai’ in Kaveripattinam on Wednesday protesting against official apathy. —

KRISHNAGIRI: Farmers on Wednesday boycotted Kaveripattinam Uzhavar Santhai protesting against official apathy. About 13 farmers put up shops outside the Santhai, sold their products for prices less than the ones fixed by the Agricultural Marketing Board.

Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam Taluk Committee member G. Periyasamy told The Hindu that the farmers’ market was opened by District Collector V.K. Shanmugam on February 23 last year.

Adjacent to the Uzhavar Santhai, another market has been put up by a few people with local political support. This affects the farmers as they cannot sell their produce inside the Santhai.

Mr. Periyasamy said the parallel market complex christened ‘MGR weekly market’ was built by the Kaveripattinam Panchayat Union 10 years ago as wholesale tomato mandi.

Intermediaries were blocking the farmers who brought their produce to the market and diverting them to markets in Royakottai and Palacode for a huge commission. As a result, the farmers could not sell their products at uzhavar santhai.

The intermediaries buy farm products on a lesser price and sell them for a high price to outside traders. It was said the farmers could not even sell even 30 kg of tomatoes.

Tomato, brinjal and ladies finger were the common vegetables produced by the local farmers. Other vegetables were bought from Hosur Uzhavar Santhai and sold here, said a farmer.

Petitions to the Chief Minister’s cell, the District Collector and representations on the farmers’ grievances day did not bear fruit, he added.

He said the boycott would continue till the officials removed the retail vegetable market adjacent to the Uzhavar Santhai.

K. Meganathan, Administrative Officer from the Agricultural Marketing Board, visited the santhai and held talks with the farmers and asked them to sell their produce inside the market till the Deputy Director of the Board returned from Chennai.

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