Farmers protest in Manapparai over loan denials, water crisis
The protesters said cooperative banks were denying fresh crop loans on the grounds of low CIBIL scores, even to those who had repaid previous loans. They demanded exemption from CIBIL score criteria for agricultural loans and called for fresh loans to be issued within a week of repayment.
Highlighting rising input costs, farmers sought an increase in crop loan limits and criticised the Centre for failing to deliver on the promise of Minimum Support Price (MSP) at twice the input cost.
They also questioned why farm loans are not waived while public sector banks have written off loans in other sectors between FY16 and FY25.
Their other demands included interlinking of southern rivers, water supply from Mettur or Aliyar dam to the Ponnani River and Kannoothu dam, a monthly pension of ₹5,000 for farmers, round-the-clock three-phase electricity, and installation of CCTV cameras along the national highway to curb theft.
Carrying placards, the protesters urged the government to act immediately to safeguard farmers' lives and livelihoods.
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