Farmers climb mobile phone towers protesting Ayyakannu’s house arrest

TIRUCHY: A section of farmers from Tiruchy climbed atop a cell phone tower on Wednesday and staged a protest to release a farmer leader kept under house arrest for attempting to travel to Chennai and stage a protest in front of the Secretariat.

A group of farmers from Desiya Thenniddhiya Nadhigal Inaippu Sangam led by the state president P Ayyakannu announced to lay siege to the Secretariat on Wednesday. However, Tiruchy police thwarted their protest by keeping Ayyakannu under house arrest since Tuesday.

At the same time, Ayyakannu and a few farmers commenced their hunger protest in his house and demanded the police to release them to organise the protest. The farmers appealed to the police that their protest might not hinder the public but still, the police refused it.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a section of farmers from the association who gathered at Woraiyur started climbing atop a private cell phone tower by raising slogans against the police demanding the release of their leader Ayyakannu.

On seeing the farmers climbing the cell phone tower, the police warned them to climb down, but they continued to stay there for more than two hours and raised slogans. This resulted in a standstill of traffic in the busy Woraiyur Main Road as the public gathered at the spot to witness it.

Later the police held talks with the farmers and they climbed down after two hours of protest.