AIADMK plans statewide protest

Stating that the lives of the farming community, constituting a majority in the state, were becoming more miserable, she said it was 8220;pitiable that entire families of farmers have to wait near irrigation wells, not knowing when power will be supplied in these days of severe power cuts.8221;

The ill-effects of the 8220;treachery8221; committed by Karunanidhi in 1974 on the Cauvery issue were still felt, she said, adding that Thanjavur, the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, was 8220;turning dry8221; as no steps had been taken to ensure proper supply of Cauvery water from Karnataka.

Jayalalitha said remunerative procurement prices werenot available for paddy and the government was not carrying out regular procurement. As a result, she said, the farmers could not sell their paddy in the open market. The farmers, who did not get any concession to buy fertilizers, were being submerged in 8220;intolerable debt burdens8221;, she said.

The government collected over 75 per cent of land tax till the month of February and later 8220;staged a drama8221; by announcing waiver of land tax up to Rs 43 crore, she alleged.

After announcing the waiver of land tax, the amount collected from the farmers, who were in distress now, should be refunded to them this year itself, she maintained.

Jayalalitha said Karunanidhi, who in his party8217;s election manifesto during the 1996 Assembly elections, had assured Rs 1,000 per tonne as the procurement price of sugarcane, was yet to implement, two years later.

This was pointed out in the April 15 meeting of the AIADMK8217;s executive committee and a resolution adopted setting May 31 as the deadline for resolving the problemsfaced by agriculturists, she said.

The Karunanidhi regime was thus given 8220;sufficient time8221; to settle the grievances of the agriculturists and was warned well in advance of an agitation if the problems were not attended to within the specified time frame, she said.

However, Karunanidhi had not cared about the warning, nor the deadline, she said, adding power distribution had not been properly restored, land tax paid by the agriculturists not reimbursed and the procurement price for sugarcane still not paid. The AIADMK had then declared that it would launch an agitation if the demands were not met by May 31, she said.

Centre monitoring TN8217;