TIRUCHY: Even after three ministers held talks and assured that their demands would be considered, farmers from over 40 associations across TN decided to continue their sit-in protest in Tiruchy on Tuesday.
“As we are not convinced by the assurances given by the ministers, we decided to continue our protest as planned,” Eesan Murugasamy, coordinator of the Tamil Nadu All Farmers’ Associations and organiser of the protest, told TNIE.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister S Ramesh, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister R Vinodh and Cooperation Minister V Gandhiraj, along with Tiruchy Collector Pratik Tayal, held talks with the protesting farmers at the collectorate in the evening.
They assured of consulting the CM C Joseph Vijay and officials concerned before making an announcement within a week on the complete waiver of crop loans.
Despite the district police denying permission to commence an indefinite sit-in protest near Samayapuram, demanding the complete waiver of entire crop loans as promised in the TVK election campaign, functionaries and farmers staged the protest.
As the police denied permission to set up a makeshift pandal on private land, over 300 farmers were forced to stand under the scorching sun, holding palm leaves over their heads for shade. The farmers condemned the police action and sought to express their opposition democratically.
After the police granted permission, a pandal was installed at the protest site.