1 month ago
1
“When payment schemes don’t scope the past mile, it is ever the nether privileged who are deprived,” says J. Thiruvengadam, pensively.
An office-bearer of the farmers’ assemblage successful Kamsalapuram colony successful Madurantakam Taluk, Mr. Thiruvengadam has a consecutive instrumentality for the candidates seeking predetermination from the Madurantakam Assembly Constituency successful the upcoming polls: “You tune your machinery to scope the process end, you volition guarantee that benefits trickle down to subsistence farmers, those with insignificant landholdings, and those rearing livestock.”
Although hardly 100 km from the superior metropolis of Chennai, Madurantakam is simply a predominantly agrarian portion with atom being the superior crop, portion a conception of farmers successful Vaiyavoor portion turn vegetables arsenic well.
The Agriculture Department does marque respective facilities, similar instrumentality and seeds, disposable to the farmers, but it is not ever what they want. “The farmers are often torn betwixt what they privation and what they are offered. Sometimes, the section procures a assortment of effect which is not the effect of prime for the farmers. Many reluctantly judge what is being offered,” Mr. Thiruvengadam added. “The section sometimes offered 100 powerfulness tillers, but the request would beryllium overmuch more. Invariably, farmers with smaller landholdings suffer retired successful the race.”
K. Damodaran of Veeranakunnam colony agrees, adding: “The MLA brings america schemes, but the transportation of those schemes beryllium connected the ratio of the panchayat ward members. If they instrumentality the schemes partially portion claiming to person completed the work, it does not payment the radical but lone those successful power. When they travel seeking votes, we volition inquire them pugnacious questions.”
The Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) acceptable up by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation to procure paddy straight from the farmers are often overburdened during the highest season.
Payments delayed
J. Damodaran, a husbandman from Vaiyavoor, says, “During the highest season, the DPCs find it hard to process and determination the ample measurement of paddy that farmers deposit there. Payments are often delayed too, sometimes for implicit a period to 3 months. It would beryllium large if steps are taken to process this faster.”
Farmlands successful Madurantakam person h2o done a web of implicit 500 irrigation tanks, the largest of them being the Madurantakam Lake. It irrigates implicit 2,500 acres of onshore dispersed crossed 10 villages.
Spillway constructed
It was precocious spruced up, and a controlled spillway was built with 12 shutters to power the excess h2o discharge during dense inflows.
A ample fig of farmers besides beryllium connected wells to h2o their crop, which makes the monsoon a important factor. Their main harvest play is betwixt December and March.
While the constituency has a sizeable Scheduled Caste population, 2 per cent of its colonisation are tribals, particularly the Irulas, a peculiarly susceptible tribal radical known for their heavy cognition of snakes.
Many of them proceed to look stigmatisation and unrecorded successful abject poverty. With hardly immoderate landholdings, they often find themselves extracurricular the ambit of authorities schemes meant for the underprivileged.
“A fewer of america person been fixed pattas, but astir of america unrecorded successful makeshift shacks covered with tarpaulin sheets, thenar fronds and different dried up foliage,” says S. Prakash.
After completing school, helium has been taking up unusual jobs successful farmlands adjacent to supplement household income.
“These are low-lying areas and we are forced to displacement to evacuee camps successful the adjacent schoolhouse during monsoon,” helium adds. There person been discussions to rehabilitate them to patta lands adjacent but it’s yet to beryllium implemented.
Political past
Politically, it is 1 of those constituencies wherever some the Dravidian giants person won astir adjacent fig of times. This time, the sitting AIADMK MLA, K. Maragatham, is seeking re-election portion the DMK has fielded S. Ponmalar.
The tract has been made absorbing by the introduction of the TVK candidate, E. Ezhil Catherine, who is the girl of erstwhile Union Minister Dalit R. Ezhilmalai. The Naam Tamilar Katchi has fielded Janakiraman arsenic its candidate.
In 2021, the AIADMK had a washout successful the KTCC (Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Chennai) portion with Madurantakam being the lone constituency wherever it acceptable a ft at.
