Widespread support for farmers agitating in Delhi

In Tiruchy, the farmers staged a walk out as soon as the meeting commenced. They carried withered banana trees and raised slogans against the centre and state and urged to pay attention to the protests in New Delhi. 

“The Union government can no more shy away from constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). Due to improper sharing of water between the two states due to increase in dams across the Cauvery, the total number of area under agriculture in Karnataka has been increasing, while it is the other way around in Tamil Nadu’s delta districts,” P Viswanathan state president of Tank and River Ayacutdars Welfare Association said. 

About 50 farmers, marched towards the entrance of the collectorate and staged a semi-naked protest with withered banana crops. They also said that with climate change, the conditions for farming are no longer conducive. 

The Union government is attempting to implement hydrocarbon exploration projects in the State which would only aggravate the difficulties. The Centre should revise the drought compensation announced at Rs 2,014 crores for Tamil Nadu against the demand of Rs 39,400 crores. The State government should also urge the Centre to give the drought relief soon, by citing the unprecedented drought and farmer’s death across Tamil Nadu, they said. 

Meanwhile, the farmers demanded the government employees and the general public to join the protest as they have been fighting for the livelihood of all the people. 

In Tiruvarur, the farmers urged the Governments to waive their crop loans irrespective of their land holdings and the banks from which they had availed the loans.

To extend solidarity with the Tamil Nadu farmers who are protesting in New Delhi, students of Government Arts and Science College staged a protest in Ariyalur on Thursday. Students gathered in front of their college and conducted a rally from their college to the bus stand. Holding placards, they shouted slogans and sought enhanced crop damage compensation. 

They also demanded that the Cauvery Management Board should be formed at the earliest. They urged the Centre to scrap the proposed hydrocarbon extraction project at Neduvasal in the neighbouring Pudukottai district.