Farmers blamed pollution of Noyyal river, kangayam cattle for the sharp fall in the numbers

This was a beauty contest in which breed, size of udder and length of tail decided the winners. The contestants were hundreds of cattle which descended on Vellakoil in Tirupur for the ‘Kangayam Cattle Beauty Show’ organised by Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation and Kangayam Cattle Breeding Society on Thursday.A panel of five judges made up of veterinarians and experts from among Kangayam breed growers examined the contesting animals and chose the winning ones.

Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, managing trustee of Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research foundation, explained the cattle show was organised to prevent the native Kangayam breed from going extinct. “One native breed, Alambady, has already gone extinct and now, unfortunately the Kangayam breed too is on the verge of dying out. This native breed of animal, which was nearly 12 lakh strong in Tamil Nadu in the Nineties, has dwindled to less than two lakh and its population is shrinking rapidly,” he regretted, urging the government to take measures to preserve the breed.

Farmers blamed pollution of Noyyal river, mechanisation of farming, absence of a proper breeding policy for livestock and the extinction of the ‘korangadu’, a traditional grazing ground for kangayam cattle for the sharp fall in the numbers of this exotic breed of cattle.

If farmers are the backbone of the economy, then it is fractured'

Both the soil and water in Mr. Subbaian's field became polluted due to the chemical waste seepage from nearby dyeing factories into the Noyyal river which runs across his village.

Several farmers in the area started selling their lands and moved into the cities as the Government failed to check the pollution or clean up the river.

“Petitions, demonstrations, nothing seemed to work and the dyeing factories continue their pollution unabated,” says the farmer.

But unlike others, Mr. Subbaian did not sell his lands. “The fields are my extended family and the birds and insects here are my relations, I wanted to stay on and do something.

“During the course of my search for some information on what crops can be grown in these soils I came to know that Alfalfa (called Kudhirai masal in Tamil) grows well and I decided to cultivate it,” he says. The farmer also took to multiple cropping to increase his income.

“Multiple cropping system is ideal for farmers as it is an effective method of avoiding risk of loss for the farmers. In case one crop fails, the farmers need not worry but can easily tide over the financial crunch through income from the other crops,” explains Mr. Subbaian.

“In fact, much of the crop loss and farmers suicides happen only in areas where there is monocropping. Can you ever show me an instance of failure in multi-cropping?” he asks.

Mainly organic

The crops are mainly grown organically as chemical farming proved to be a failure for him. “Though I did chemical based agriculture nearly a decade back, all that it left was debts, which accumulated to nearly Rs. 30 lakh.

One thing I realised in all my life as a farmer is that no government is really interested in helping farmers. The centre is willing to import anything from the West and these countries are ready to dump us with their produce. Our Ministers are only too willing to accept it with open hands at the cost of destroying the lives of crores of farmers' livelihoods,” he says.

Becoming a debtor

“How did farmers become debtors and suffer this wretched condition? Is it their own doing? Don't people in other professions take loans and default? But it is only when a farmer fails to make one or two payments that it becomes news,” he fumes.

He adds, “the bank goes in search of him as though he is a terrorist. What happened to the people who swindled crores? That money could have been used to improve agriculture and production for many years. Is anybody bothering about this?”

The much trumpeted green revolution in reality turned out to be a farce and was not able to either sustain production or improve farmers' lives, according to him.

“What is the use of only fields turning green? The lives of farmers must also turn green with money. Only then can we accept it as a revolution,” says his son Kulandaivel. “A sugarcane farmer goes through much hardship and it is the sugarcane mill owner who prospers.

A paddy farmer remains poor throughout his life but the rice mill owner expands his mill or even buys two or three additional rice mills. Similarly it is not a cotton farmer but the buyer who flourishes.

“This is the ground reality. Even a 10-acre farmer is driven to sell his lands for getting money to finance his daughter's wedding,” he emphasises.

Eye wash

According to the Mr. Kulandaivel the Government's campaign that rural India is shining and that too brightly, is just an eye wash. India no longer lives in villages; it lives in cities and cramped towns.

“The barren fields and almost empty streets in many villages with dilapidated homes are living proof of this,” he concludes.

Contact Mr. R. Subbaian at 4/5-A, Kanakkan thottam, A.G. Pudur (P.O), Irugur (via), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: 641-103, mobile: 0936-3228039, phone:0422-2627072

Illegal dyeing units trouble farmers; effluents discharged to farms

Off the Ukkadam – Sundakkamuthur Road, about a km away, in the midst of banana farms lie three or four thatched roofed temporary structures. At first sight they appear to be houses or sheds for watchmen. But they are not. They are not even mushroom cultivation farms, as a board outside one of the sheds claims. They are yarn dyeing units. Nearly a dozen workers, surrounded by green cover are actively dipping yarn into tanks with dyes.A few yards away, behind pots on firewood, lay pools of dyed slush. Such pools are spread over the banana farm, as there is no proper effluent disposal system. The effluent runs straight from the tanks into the farm. There is no treatment facility, either. The entire operation is manual. The only machine is the water pump, which runs on diesel and not electricity.

The “illegal” units have been going for six months, complains farmer N.G. Prabhuram. “The effluent from the dyeing units reaches River Noyyal to pollute the river. It will sniff out whatever little life is left in the water. It will also affect agriculture lands that are dependent on the water.” His farm is south of the River and dependent on its waters. The functioning of the make-shift units came to light when farmer P. Suresh and his friends went bird-watching along River Noyyal.

“The mushroom farm board drew me closer to the thatched roofed structures. But I was shocked to find dyeing units without effluent treatment facility.” The operation is so low-key that it is difficult to observer. Dyed yarns are transported on two-wheelers. No big vehicle is used. The units are also close to the Big Tank's surplus weir as well. To be precise, they are south-west of the Tank, sandwiched between the weir and River. There are around 100 acres agriculture lands North of the River and another 50 in the South, all of which will get affected if the units continue to do what they do, he adds.

The workers refuse to identify themselves. They also claim to not know the owners name or phone number. “We do not have the numbers,” they told The Hindu. Sources in the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board say they are seized of the issue related to the dyeing units. Thanks to farmers, they got wind of the activities there. Conceding that it is difficult for the Board to identify such make-shift units, the sources say they depend on tip-off from public. In the last six months, the Board has sealed six such units in various parts of the district – from Anaimalai to Singanallur to Podanur. The Board is waiting for approval from its headquarters in Chennai to seal the units. It is expected anytime, the sources add.

Thanks "The Hindu" 4-1-2012 Coimbatore