With just five days left for registering for the agricultural insurance, farmers who have taken land on lease are in a quandary as to whether they will be benefited anyway by the insurance for which the State Government is prepared to pay the entire premium. With prospects for samba crop looking bleak, this assumes great significance.

Leasing cultivable land is a common practice. Besides, there is another system called “vaaram” under which the landowner shares the cost of cultivation.

The District Rural Development Agency should evolve and implement a uniform procedure for setting up solar power units, with a view to achieving the State government’s objective of supplementing th

Will be valid for a period of five years

The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has granted environment clearance for 11 more sand quarries in the Cauvery-Coleroon river basin. A few days ago, the SEIAA had granted clearance for 10 new sand quarries in Tiruchi, Karur, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Namakkal districts. In the second batch of clearance, 11 quarries have been approved, sources told The Hindu on Friday.

Solar-powered facility on the lines of one installed in New Delhi

Even as the corporation is all set to take up a project to refurbish bus shelters across the city with private participation, Tiruchi MP P.Kumar, AIADMK, has sanctioned Rs.83.50 lakh for erecting 16 solar-powered modern bus shelters in the city. The modern bus shelters would be on the lines of the one installed in New Delhi and fitted with solar panels for lighting and come with a mobile phone charger, Mr.Kumar told The Hindu over phone.

A sprawling tank at Tiruthalaiyur in the district has been a haven for migratory birds, attracting a large number of species from different parts of the globe. Gifted with serene atmosphere and isolated from human habitations, the village has been a gift for a number of migratory birds.

The birds that visit the lake include naththakumbi naarai (open billed stroke), kokku (egrets), anbil, aruval mookkan (Ibis white), raa kokku (night heron), grey heron, ullan kuruvi (sand piper), plover and a host of ducks.

Rs.1.71 crore for strengthening and laying black-topped roads

The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD)has sanctioned over Rs.4 crorefor developing rural infrastructure in the district. According to a NABARD release, under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) tranche XVIII it has sanctioned Rs.1.71 crore for strengthening and laying black-topped roads at Kattuputhur, Lalgudi, Mettupalayam, Musiri, Pullambadi, Thathaiangarpet, Thottiam, and Uppiliapuram town panchayats.

Tiruchi Corporation has planned to frame by-laws to check over exploitation of ground water by private agencies supplying water in bulk in the city.

The move comes in the wake of some complaints of over exploitation of ground water by some private agencies using huge borewells without due approval from the civic body. An official resolution on the subject would be tabled at the corporation council meeting for its approval. According to corporation sources, use of ground water for purposes other than household consumption would require the approval of the civic body.

Though drip irrigation is ideal for banana and patronised in several parts of the country, it is unfortunate that farmers of the Cauvery delta have not realised its importance, M. M. Mustaffa, Director, National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), said on Monday.

Talking to presspersons at the centre, near here, just ahead of the 19{+t}{+h}Foundation Day, he pointed out that an acre of banana normally required 900-1200 millimetre of water. “By opting for drip irrigation you can save as much as 30 per cent to 40 per cent and thus extend your area as well.”

Cement factories should play a vital role in checking pollution by strictly adhering to specified norms, said D. Vasudevan, former chief inspector of factories and advisor to National Safety Council-Tamil Nadu chapter.

At the inauguration of two-day training programme on ‘health and safety management in cement industries’ organised by Tiruchi sub-committee of National Safety Council on Friday, Mr. Vasudevan expressed satisfaction over the strict implementation of safety norms on the cement factories in the State.