TIRUCHY: Farmers and residents in the Tiruvarur district have decided to escalate their agitation after the public hearing held by the civic administration on the issues of pollution of Pamaniyaru in Mannargudi on Wednesday ended in a deadlock. They have planned to protest on October 2 and boycott the gram sabha meet.

After complaints that the Pamaniyaru, the branch river of Vennar that flows along Tiruvarur, was polluted due to the release of untreated waste directly into the river, a public meeting was held at Mannargudi municipality, chaired by the Mannargudi RDO.

Around 500 persons, including farmers, residents, environmental activists and traders, participated. The residents appealed to the officials to immediately rectify the issue and prevent the discharge of sewage into the river. The farmers also highlighted groundwater pollution. They also handed over a petition to the RDO and Municipal Commissioner, the Executive Engineer of the TWAD Board and the Executive Engineer of the Pollution Control Board.

The officials assured action, but the farmers demanded swift action with an immediate order. The officials refused it, triggering an altercation, and the meeting ended up without any proper decision.

“The officials are not ready to assure us in writing. All they wanted was to prevent any protest. As the meeting didn't arrive at a final decision, we have decided to boycott the gram sabha meeting on October 2 and hold a massive protest and down shutters across the district," said PR Pandian, the coordinator of the struggle committee and president of the coordination committee of all farmers' associations.