Condemning the Centre for turning a blind eye to the ongoing stir by Tamil Nadu farmers in New Delhi, members of the Tamizhaga Eri Mattrum Attru Pasana Vivasayigal Sangam resorted to a ‘semi-naked’ begging stir here on Friday.
Carrying begging bowls and stripped to their waist, association members led by State president P. Viswanathan squatted on the road near the Old Bus Stand hindering vehicular traffic for some time. Traffic had to be diverted during the protest.
Explaining the reason for the agitation, Mr. Viswanathan said that because of the inability of the Centre to get water released in time, delta farmers could not save the standing samba paddy crop earlier this year and kuruvai paddy crop also could not be saved for five years in a row. Drinking water scarcity and crop loss has affected 12 districts in the State and in particular, farming on 28 lakh acres has been affected resulting in a loss of over ₹50,000 crore.
The Centre has not cared to consider the pleas of the protesting farmers whose stir has entered its 23rd day, Mr. Viswanathan said. Similarly, the governments have not cared to entertain the genuine demands of the farmers protesting in Thanjavur for the past 11 days.
The farmers waging a struggle in New Delhi have declared a fast and if anything untoward happens then farmers across the country would rise as one and hold the Modi government responsible for the consequences, he said.
“Had the Centre got us the Cauvery water at the right time we would not have suffered crop loss or sought damages or would not have been pushed to undertake a struggle at the national capital and elsewhere”, Mr. Viswanathan said.
The Centre must shed its partisan attitude by constituting the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulating Authority, ensure that Karnataka adheres to the Supreme Court directive on water release in the Cauvery, waive all loans availed by farmers in nationalised banks and desilt all water bodies in the delta region, the protesting farmers said.
