Permit Parl walk or face ‘nude’ protest, warn farmers

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday, said their leader P Ayyakannu.

They were among the thousands of farmers, who will march to Ramlila Ground on Thursday and to Parliament Street on Friday, to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Ayyakannu said he was expecting more farmers affiliated with his association to arrive from Tiruchy and Karur.

He said their main demands include removal of all farmer loans, profitable price for their agricultural products and a Rs 5,000 pension for farmers per month.

The farmer leader and his associates are carrying two human skulls, which they claimed were of their two colleagues who ended their lives because they were unable to repay their debts.

“Our main agricultural activities include paddy cultivation, cotton farming, horticultural activities like coconut cultivation, banana cultivation. More than 700 farmers have committed suicide in TN due to loans that they could not repay. We have no water and have been suffering from drought like situations for the last five years. This year, too, we suffered due to storms.

“On Friday, we will stage nude protests if police stop us from going to Parliament,” he said. The 20 women farmers in his group will not be part of the nude protests, he clarified.