Tamil Nadu farmers have staged a protest at the office of the chief engineer of the public works department, demanding that the relevant authorities declare Tamil Nadu as a drought-hit state.
Around 50 members of a farmers' association gathered in front of the chief engineer of the PWD to submit a memorandum. As he was away on work, the agitators, headed by its state president P Ayyakannu, went to the office of deputy superintending engineer, T Selvaraj, and staged a sit in protest there.
While airing their grievances, Ayyakannu said that it was the duty of the Centre and state to provide water for irrigation and fix a profitable price for their produce. However, both the governments have failed them, he alleged.
The memorandum stated that the government should disburse Rs 100,000 to banana farmers. They also urged the government to distribute 15,000 to agricultural labourers with ration cards.
(1 Indian Rupee=0.015USD)
