TIRUCHY: Farmers from Thanjavur on Tuesday staged a protest in the dry GA canal demanding the union government to order the Karnataka government to release due water to Tamil Nadu and remove the Jal Sakthi Minister V Somanna.

The members of the Confederation of Farmers Associations led by the State Vice President Kakkarai Sukumaran assembled in the GA canal bed and raised slogans against the Karnataka government for constructing the Mekedatu dam.

The farmers said that the union government must order the Karnataka government to stop the dam work as it would turn the Cauvery Delta into a desert and they would lose their livelihood.

They condemned Union Minister V Somanna who was favouring the decision of the Karnataka government in the construction of the Mekedatu dam.

They also demanded 16 hours of uninterrupted 3-phase power supply for kuruvai cultivation as they are dependent on groundwater to save the standing crop. They also demanded a crop damage compensation of Rs 35,000 per acre for the crop loss in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, they attempted to burn an effigy of the Union Minister Somanna. However, the police who were on duty prevented it.