More than a hundred farmers in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli protested in front of the district collectorate office by consuming human waste on Tuesday.
The protest was held under the leadership of Ayyakannu, State President of the National South Indian Rivers Linking Farmers Association. The farmers also marked their bodies with religious ash (naamam).
They condemned the district administration for allegedly turning a blind eye to farmers' demands, alleging that the Chief Minister has failed to listen to farmers' grievances, implement their demands, or fulfil the election promises made to them. The protesters accused the government of betraying the farming community.
Speaking to ANI, Ayyakannu stated that while more than 300 farmers travelled to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, police detained them in Madhya Pradesh and sent them back to Tamil Nadu. He further alleged that the Tamil Nadu police prevented the group from meeting the Prime Minister.
"We have more than 300 people who travelled from Tamil Nadu to Delhi. We have purchased tickets, but at Narmadaapuram in Madhya Pradesh, the police arrested us and returned us to Tamil Nadu. But at the same time, the Maharashtra police registered a case against us and filed cases against 307 farmers. So, for that reason, we want to meet the Prime Minister and try to give you a memorandum before the Prime Minister. But the Tamil Nadu police have not allowed (us) to meet the Prime Minister. Then we tried to submit a petition to the District Collector in Trichy. The District Collector refused to receive the petition," said Ayyakannu.
He further alleged that the Tiruchirappalli district collector failed to address the farmers' problems.
"What is the duty of the District Collector? If there is any problem for the farmers, he must solve the problem of the farmers. But they are not ready to solve. So, that's the reason today, we have stand here without dress. Half-naked dress. And we are ready to eat the human waste also today," Ayyakannu added.
Additionally, the farmers noted that during the 2021 Assembly elections, nearly 56 election promises were made regarding agriculture and farmers. However, they alleged that most of these assurances remain unfulfilled.
They specifically accused the DMK government of failing to implement its promises, including a complete waiver of all farm loans, ensuring remunerative prices for agricultural produce, opening additional paddy procurement centres, and providing full crop insurance compensation.
Thus, the farmers continued their protest in front of the District Collectorate by marking their bodies to express their dissent. At one stage, angered by what they described as total neglect by the District Collector and other officials, the farmers escalated their protest to a shocking level by consuming human waste to draw attention to their plight.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
