Lok Sabha elections: Agrarian woes plenty, but candidates noncommittal

PERAMBALUR: This underdeveloped constituency in central Tamil Nadu has been craving for a vocal parliamentarian to better the lives of its agrarian population with irrigation and drinking water projects as well as agriculture-based industries. However, candidates vying for the Perambalur Lok Sabha seat are barely touching upon these issues in their high-voltage campaigns.
Dotted with lakhs of hectares of agriculture fields, the constituency comprises Perambalur in Perambalur district, Kulithalai in Karur district and Mannachanallur, Musiri, Thuraiyur and Lalgudi assembly segments in Trichy district.Cultivation of shallots, maize, cotton and sugarcane in Perambalur, banana in Kulithalai and Musiri, cotton and paddy in Lalgudi area remains the livelihood of the people. The one demand that has been resonating in the belt is to ensure minimum support price (MSP) of 50% more than the cost of production for produces as recommended by M S Swaminathan. “But the issue has been remaining unaddressed whoever ruled in the state or at the Centre,” said the state spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Sangam, N Veerasekaran

The Cauvery river water dispute also has its effect on the constituency with inflow canals to about 120 tanks on 50 to 100 acres gradually ruined by lack of maintenance. The flow of Cauvery river is restricted to Kulithalai, Musiri, Lalgudi and Anbil while the other areas depend on rain and five irrigation canals. With no rain, the dry tanks have been taking a toll on drinking water supply in the villages of Pullambadi, Mannachanallur, Thathaingarpettai, Thuraiyur, Uppiliyapuram, Peramabalur and Veppanthattai blocks.
TOI witnessed the plight of Thiruppaigneeli residents toiling to fetch drinking water from the tap of the only overhead tank meant for at least three localities. Though Thuraiyur has the comfort of receiving water from Ariyaru which depends on the rain in Kollimalai, indiscriminate tree-felling has hit the prospects of rain too. Adding to these woes was the deadly attack by armyworm on nearly one lakh acres of maize crops. The declared compensation of Rs 7,410 per hectare in the rain-fed areas and Rs 13,500 per hectare in irrigated areas is yet to reach the farmers. “The insurance companies fail to provide compensation in case of crop loss despite collecting a considerable amount as premium,” said Perambalur district secretary of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam V Neelakantan.
All said, the campaigns of the candidates have hardly seen any stress on the livelihood issues. The constituency which has the highest population of mutharaiyar community followed by dalits, udaiyars and reddiyars has AIADMK’s N R Sivapathy and AMMK’s Rajasekaran from mutharaiyar while IJK’s T R Paarivendhar hails from udaiyar community.
In 2014, the Jayalalithaa wave had favoured the AIADMK candidate R P Marutharaja to clinch victory for the first time. Post-Jaya, the scenario has changed for Sivapathy though he can count on the alliance with BJP, DMDK, TMC, Puthiya Tamizhagam and PMK to get a boost. Besides, Rajasekaran could also eat into the community votes causing trouble for Sivapathy. As for Paarivendhar, he has DMK, Congress, CPM, CPI, VCK and MDMK on his side unlike his first outing in 2014 when he contested on BJP symbol and ended up third.