Authorities told to convene special meeting to resolve issues pertaining to DPCs

Following repeated complaints from the farmers of Madurai district regarding irregularities in the functioning of direct purchase centres (DPCs), Madurai Collector K. J. Praveen Kumar has asked the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation officials to convene a special meeting with the farmers and resolve the issues.

At the farmers grievance redress meeting held on Friday at the Collectorate, the farmers complained that an adequate number of DPCs had not been opened in those places where announced. They also raised other complaints regarding the functioning of the DPCs in the district.

The Collector asked the TNCSC officials to conduct a special grievance redressal meeting with the farmers to resolve the issues. He instructed the officials to take necessary action to resolve the problems.

A section of farmers urged the authorities to release water to the 58 village canal scheme. They said Vaigai dam should be desilted so that storage could be improved and water could be released to the 58 village canal scheme. They also demanded the removal of encroachments along the waterbodies.

Farmers from Usilampatti said water should be released to the 58 village canal scheme and a government order should be issued in this regard. They said several TMC of water released from Mullaperiyar and Vaigai dams was getting drained into the sea without being utilised properly. A heated argument followed when a section of farmers from Melur said water release to the canal scheme cannot be claimed as a right. Following the intervention of the Collector, the issue was settled.

During the meeting, the Collector told the farmers to wait for their turns so that the issues could be taken up for discussion and a solution could be provided. Details of water level, crops, agricultural area and schemes were provided at the meeting. The officials and farmers also took a pledge at the meeting ahead of the National Voters Day which is observed on January 25.