KPCC asks govt to address farmers' problems in Kuttanad

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 18 (UNI) Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President Ramesh Chennithala today said the state government should take immediate steps to address the problems of farmers in Kuttanad.

Talking to mediapersons here, he demanded that the government should provide immediate compensation to the farmers, who had lost their crops in the rains.

The government should ask the state Civil Supplies Corporation to procure the entire crop from the farmers.

''The farmers opted for mechanised harvesting due to the shortage of labourers in Kuttanad. The Congress will symbolically introduce harvesting machines in Kuttanad tomorrow,'' he said.

''The Congress is not against labourers, but mechanised harvesting should be done where there is a shortage of labourers,'' he added.

Mr Chennithala said his party would launch state-wide agitations if the government did not take appropriate steps to settle the farmers' problems.

The Kerala Karshaka Congress would take out a 'Karshaka Sandesha Yatra' from Manjeshwaram to Thiruvananthapuram on April 1 and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram would address the farmers at Thiruvananthapuram on April 19, he added.

UNI PN AJ SW RS1941