‘Modi govt has not responded’, DMK on plight of protesting Tamil farmers

DMK MP Kanimozhi met the protesting farmers at Jantar Mantar, new Delhi, on Friday.

New Delhi, March 31: It has been 18 days since a group of farmers from drought-hit Tamil Nadu are protesting at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. These 80-odd farmers from Tamil Nadu are demanding financial relief as they have lost their crops and savings in the ongoing drought in the state. The peaceful agitation has brought a lot of attention as the farmers are protesting with skulls.

Apart from regular media attention, because of the unique way of their protest, a couple of film personalities, including Prakash Raj, and leaders of ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham in Tamil Nadu met the farmers at the protesting site.

However, till date none from the Centre met these farmers. On Friday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliamnet Kanimozhi met these farmers and attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for ignoring the plight of the drought-hit poor farmers.

"They are protesting for more than 18 days demanding loan waiver. Crops have dried and there is no water. Tamil Nadu has not seen such a drought. The Central Government has not responded so far. The farmers are not being assured from the Centre," Kanimozhi told reporters.

The skulls are the remains of Tamil farmers who committed suicide due to severe drought in the state, say protesters. There are at least eight skulls at the protest site, reminding onlookers how drought forced several farmers in Tamil Nadu to commit suicide as they failed to pay back their loans taken from the banks and private money lenders.

According to an estimate, the crisis in the agriculture sector in Tamil Nadu has reached a mammoth proportion. Since October last year, every day, two farmers are committing suicide in the state, say reports.

The protesters clad in green dhotis and white shirts look distraught and tired as their agitation is continuing for the last 18 days. But they are adamant to sit in dharna till all their demands are met by the Centre.

Speaking to reporters, an elderly farmer said, "Our main demand is financial relief. We also want our loans to be waived off as we have lost all our crops and savings in the drought."

"We are going to continue the protest indefinitely until the Centre fulfils all our demands. The state government has sought Rs 39,565 crore as drought relief from the National Disaster Response Fund. But the central team has recommended a paltry sum of Rs 2,096.80 crore as drought relief. It is grossly inadequate. The state has witnessed an unprecedented drought in the last 150 years and the whole state has been declared drought-hit," South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association president P Ayyakannu who is leading the protest, said.

OneIndia News