Taking a serious view of the absence of a few officials at the farmers grievances redress meeting in Dindigul on Friday, Collector Durgamoorthi instructed officials to be present at the meetings without fail.

The Collector also instructed the officials to mandatorily respond to the petitions submitted by the farmers. The Collector presided over the farmers grievance redress meeting held at the Dindigul Collectorate. The Collector said permission was granted to farmers to extract silt from around 500 irrigation tanks in the district.

Farmers urged the authorities to fix fair prices for mangoes and coconuts. They demanded that the government procure them directly. The farmers of Sanarpatti complained about the damage to the banana crop and sought compensation for the loss.

Excessive fees were being collected for livestock at Oddanchatram market, farmers said. The Collector said the Municipality could collect the fees in order to prevent any irregularities. She instructed the authorities to take action against those who were collecting the excess fees. Appropriate action will also be initiated against the officials if they fail to take action, she said.

Farmers complained about dog menace. They said dogs were mauling cattle and goats and urged the authorities to take action. The Collector instructed the officials to set monthly targets to sterilize and vaccinate stray dogs.

Farmers told the authorities that there was a need to desilt the waterbodies in the district. They also said stone quarrying operations were being carried beyond permissible limits and urged the authorities to take necessary action.

The Collector instructed the Department of Geology and Mining to frequently inspect quarries and take action against violations. Desilting work was being carried in around 500 tanks in the district. Farmers can collect silt from the tanks, she said.

Some of the other demands of the farmers included the need to open a direct purchase centre in Vilampatti. The Collector said steps would be taken in this regard. The farmers also urged the authorities to release the export committee report on Kudaganaru river and the encroachments along the river be removed. The Collector said a comprehensive survey would be conducted and the encroachments will be removed.