Farmers bodies seek government intervention

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leaders of various farmers organisations have urged the State Government to implead in the appeal filed by the State Bank of Travancore before the Supreme Court against the Kerala High Court’s verdict which declared rubber plantations as agriculture land.  Speaking in a press meet here, Karshaka Congress (I) state president Lal Vargehese Kalpakavady said that the case pertained to the interest of more than 12 lakh small- scale rubber farmers in the state.Earlier, the farmers organisation Infam had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Finance Minister K M Mani seeking their intervention for the government to implead in the case in the Supreme Court. The memorandum said that SBT was trying to exclude rubber farmers from the definition of ‘farmer’ which if accepted would lead to severe crisis in the agriculture sector.   Leaders of Karshaka Congress (I), Farmers Union (M), Rubber Marketing Cooperative Societies Association and Infam were present at the press conference.