Mekedatu: Farmers stage novel stir in Tiruchy

TIRUCHY: Farmers from the Delta region continued their protest against the construction of the Mekedatu dam by Karnataka, while in Tiruchy, they staged a novel ‘self-burial’ protest in the dry Cauvery river bed on Tuesday, claiming that Tamil Nadu would struggle for drinking water too.

As the farmers from the Delta region have been demanding that the state government initiate legal action and get the due share of water from Karnataka, they launched an indefinite protest and condemned Karnataka for constructing the Mekedatu dam.

The farmers also demanded that the state government not demand a separate tribunal for Mekedatu as per the resolution passed on the Assembly floor. They claimed that the new tribunal for Mekedatu would further affect Tamil Nadu, as the tribunal would only support Karnataka.

On Tuesday, a section of farmers from Tiruchy, headed by P Ayyakannu, the state president of Desiya Thennidiya Nadhigal Inaippu Sangam, assembled at the Cauvery river bed and staged a protest against Karnataka.

They also staged a novel protest of ‘self-burial’ at the river bed and claimed that around 25 lakh acre land would turn barren once Karnataka constructs the Mekedatu dam, which would also lead to a famine situation in the state as the food production would be affected.

"The union government should intervene in the issue and instruct the Karnataka government to stop constructing the Mekedatu dam; otherwise, Tamil Nadu would even struggle for drinking water,” Ayyakannu said.