MADURAI: As part of their State-wide agitation demanding that the government declare the entire Tamil Nadu ‘drought-hit’, members of various farmers’ associations staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Wednesday.
Tension prevailed as the farmers started walking from Thiruvalluvar statue towards the Collector’s office. When they were blocked by a large posse of police near the main gate of the Collectorate, a wordy altercation erupted between them, which resulted in commotion.
The police arrested the agitators and removed them from the spot. The farmers, who were shouting slogans, demanded that they be compensated adequately for the loss of crops due to drought. A compensation of Rs. 10 lakh should be given to each of the families of the farmers who had died, unable to bear the mounting loss, in recent times, and one member of each family should be given a government job, they demanded.
The agitators also wanted Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to be extended to 200 days, and the daily wage enhanced to Rs. 400.
The farmers urged the government to desilt tanks in all panchayats and municipalities by sanctioning special funds. Any delay in executing the work would result in more deaths, they said.
The agitators, who were released in the evening, again attempted to lay siege to the Collectorate. However, they dispersed after State Food Minister R. Kamaraj held talks with them and assured them that their grievances would be looked into, a spokesman told reporters.
The demonstration was led by Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam district president S.P. Illangovan, district secretary K. Rajendran, Akhila India Vivasaya Thozhilalargal Sangam district president B. Ravichandran, district secretary S. Pandian and Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary C. Ramakrishnan.
