TIRUCHY: Farmers from Tiruvarur staged a road block protest, charging that Muthupettai, the tail-end region of the district, is yet to receive water and the traffic at ECR was affected for more than an hour on Wednesday.

According to the protesting farmers, the water released for samba cultivation on September 1 had not reached the tail-end parts in Tiruvarur, and so the farmers from Muthupettai who undertook cultivation at an area of 10,000 ha under direct sowing had failed to receive water till date, and so the crops have started to wither away. 

Similarly, Korayaru irrigated crops in around 5000 ha in more than 10 villages, including Udayamarthandapuram, Keezhakadu, Natchikulam, Pinnathur, Palliyamedu, Thillaivilagam and Idumbavanan, have also been drying up.

The irate farmers who gathered at the ECR in Udayamarathandapuram blocked the traffic, in which leaders from various political parties and farmers' associations took part. 

On receiving information, the PWD Executive Engineer Guru Sakthivel and the police held talks with the protesting farmers. Upon assurance by the official that the water would reach their places before October 10, they withdrew the protest. The traffic was disrupted in the ECR for more than an hour.