The Agriculture Department’s move to encourage online submission of grievances related to the recent rain-related calamities has emerged as a hurdle for many rural farmers with poor internet connectivity and technical knowledge. Many are struggling to sign up with the Agriculture Information Management Standard (AIMS) portal to start with the e-filing process and claim the compensation.
Users who tried to log in on Wednesday complained that they came across unknown processing errors and connectivity issues. As internet cafes and computer centres remain closed, farmers are unable to seek the help of private operators to file their claims. Though some of them tried to contact Agriculture Department control rooms, it didn’t help.
Two youngsters from Kozhikode who tried to log into the portal on Wednesday for their parents said they couldn’t open the ‘create user link’. “A few others could not enter their mobile numbers to complete the verification process. Though the issue was taken up online with the department, the response was to send the screenshot of the page to the aimsagrikerala@gmail.com, they said.
A farmer from Koodaranhi complained that there was something wrong with the one-time password generation. “Also, I was confused about the instructions related to the uploading of supportive documents. At least there should be a helping mechanism to attend to the concerns of technically unskilled farmers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Department sources said the new filing system was proposed as a convenient option to avoid unwanted rush in Krishi Bhavans for filing compensation claims in the wake of the COVID-19 spread. According to them, technical issues, if any as a result of heavy traffic, could be solved within a short time. Apart from submission through the portal, farmers would be allowed to communicate the details of their loss with images to agriculture officers concerned using WhatsApp, they said.
