Thanjavur: Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) president G K Vasan accused both the Central and State governments of launching a three-pronged attack on farmers.
With the farmers’ sit-in agitation continuing in front of the collectorate here for the successive sixth day today, TMC president G K Vasan took part in it in a show of solidarity with the farmers demanding the immediate constitution of Cauvery Management Board (CMB) as per the final award of Cauvery tribunal.
Addressing the farmers on the occasion, Vasan alleged that both the central and state governments were launching a three-pronged attack on the farmers.
“Monsoon failure has led to severe drought. Failure by state government to eradicate the ‘seemai karuvalam’ trees (Prosopis juliflora) has resulted in the depletion of ground water. When the farmers are in distress caused by nature, Central government has brought in hydrocarbon project”, Vasan said.
Vasan alleged that Congress led State government in Karnataka and BJP led Central government is hand in glove with the Congress led State government in Karnataka in constructing dam across Cauvery in Mekedatu and refusing to release water to Tamil Nadu. “BJP is enacting a drama”, he said.
There is a fear that a situation will arise wherein the Cauvery delta region, popularly known as Granary of Tamil Nadu, will soon turn into a desert, Vasan said and urged both the central and state governments to fulfill the farmers’ demands and take measures to protect the farmers.
Meanwhile, a group of youths, all wearing masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and human skulls, took part in the stir.
The agitators called upon the State Government to pressurize the Central Government into immediately constitute the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee as per the final award of Cauvery tribunal. They also urged the Central Government to drop the plan to set up a single tribunal to hear all inter-state water disputes.
P Maniyarasan, Coordinator of Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee, demanded that the Centre declare the entire Cauvery delta as a protected agricultural zone, banning all ‘destructive’ industrial activities such as exploration of shale gas, coal bed methane gas as well as hydrocarbon.
People from various walks of life have been pouring into the protest venue to express their solidarity with the protesters and their cause.