Tsunami hit Moplah farmers demand alternate land

Stewart Gunj (South Andaman), Feb 10: The Andaman Moplah Service Organisation (AMSO) in Andaman islands has demanded alternate land for tsunami hit farmers.

A vast tract of 10,610 hectares of land has been lost to tsunami permanently. Some have simply disappeared from the face of the earth. A chunk of Agricultural lands are also spoiled by tsunami due to high salinity.

At a recently held meeting, over 400 tsunami affected farmers gathered in Stewart Gunj Village of South Andaman and voiced their grievances against the administration.

Stewart Gunj and nearby villages of South Andaman are thickly populated with people of Moplah community, descendents of Moplah revolution freedom fighters, sent to Kalapani on punishment by British rulers.

Out of whopping Rs 108 crores of cash doles, the farmers of South Andaman got hardly 3 per cent as compensation for loss of 1400 hectares of farmland belonging to 1000 farmers, said Abdul Rahman, AMSO General Secretary.

He alleged that though the agriculture department had spent over Rs 31 crores for purchasing fertilizers, power tillers and pump sets and Rs 1.3 lakh was sanctioned for digging up of minor irrigation ponds, but these were not available to the victims.

"Our organisation will soon meet the administrator and submit a representation on behalf of the farmers and may even resort to direct agitations, if our demands are not met," AMSO president V.K. Siddque told UNI in Port Blair.

He also informed that a joint Action Council has been formed to continue the efforts.

After tsunami catastrophe the Government of India has approved a special package for revival of agriculture sector at a cost of Rs.

2395 million which includes repair and reconstruction of dykes, site clearance, scrapping of surface salt, application of organic matter, application of gypsum, rainwater harvesting through check dam, creation of water body-pond/well, pump sets, cropping programme, creation of drainage facility, farm implements/equipment.

UNI