District receives mobile veterinary laboratory

Soil test card will be given to around 40,000 farmers in the district to enable them choose the type and the quantity of fertilizers needed to raise crops. All preventive measures will be taken to protect animals from seasonal diseases. The district has received a mobile veterinary lab, said Collector K. Nagarajan. He was presiding over the agriculturists' grievance day meeting here on Friday.

The agriculture officials would inform about the condition of soil, input required for enriching it, and make them fit for cultivation and assist in selecting crops suitable to the soil condition.

It would also help them not only scale down use of fertilizers but also cut their production costs substantially, he added.

The district had received 362.04 mm rainfall in June as against an average rainfall of 262 mm, which was 99.34 mm more than the average. At present, 20 per cent of irrigation tanks had storage to irrigate crops for one month and the rest of the rain-fed tanks had a little storage only.

He appealed to the farmers to cultivate small grains and oil seeds using the available water judiciously.

The mobile lab would visit various villages and diagnose seasonal diseases of domestic animals and birds on the spot and prescribe medicines to them. Preventive measures would also be taught to farmers.

‘Kanai' disease control scheme would be implemented in the district this year. The scheme would be implemented in 205 villages.

Farmers complained that large tracts of cultivable lands were completely destroyed owing to indiscriminate discharge of effluents from a factory at Manur in Palani block. No action had been initiated against it.

Mr. Nagarajan ordered the Revenue officials to inspect the unit and submit a report. If it failed to comply with the Pollution Control Board norms, it would be sealed immediately.

Farmers from Emakkalapuram charged that soil had been lifted in large-scale before the Siva Temple at their village for the past two years. The farmers complained that Block Divisional Official did not respond to repeated complaints. Farmers' association members complained that Vettuvankulam tank was not desilted.

But officials told that desilting work was over. In many places, execution of 100-day work was in paper only. Officials created records without executing any work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Collector ordered Reddiyarchatram Block Development Officer to inquire into the issue.