Residents protest after ryot ends life over GAIL pipeline

Police said C Ganesan took the extreme step upon heading back home after participating in a protest organised by farmers against the gas pipeline project. He hanged by tying a rope to a tree in his farmland spread over an area of 1.64 acre.

His death triggered tension as farmers alleged that Ganesan ended his life over attempts by GAIL to take over his land for the proposed project. They staged a protest by placing the body of the deceased on Pennagaram Road.

After a while, farmers shifted the body to the arterial Dharmapuri- Indur Road near Sekkarapatti and continued their protest.

Farmers, who were up in arms against the project over the last few years, had renewed their protest over the last two days after GAIL commenced works to survey the land.

Dharmapuri district Superintendent of Police C Kalaiselvan and Assistant Collector Chitra Vijayan held talks with the protesting farmers, who demanded that GAIL drop its plans to acquire farmlands and sought compensation to the kin of the deceased farmer.

As talks failed, the farmers met Dharmapuri Collector S Divyadarshini and put forth their demands, before withdrawing the protest.