They bite rats, snakes and even stripped naked outside the Prime Minister's office; however farmers from Tamil Nadu, some even protesting with the skulls of their kin, continue facing apathy, they say.On Tuesday, after 29 days of protest, a delegation of six farmers lead by P. Ayyakannu met the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh."The minister said that our demands will be met but the protest will continue till the demands are actually met," said one protester. The farmers say that due to the drought for last 10 years which became more severe since last four years, they could hardly cultivate any crops. They have been demanding loan waivers, drought relief packages and formation of a Cauvery management board to resolve the irrigation issues faced by the farmers.Farmers say that due to the drought their crops failed for thr last four years and they are unable to repay the loan they had taken."The water availability started reducing annually ten years back and for past four years there were no rains.
All the lakes and ponds dried up, there is hardly any water now," B.K Murti, a farmer from Velangani village of Nagapattinam district, told IANS.He added that a lot of farmers in his and neighbouring villages has been committing suicide since the past ten years, while the number jumped in the last four years.According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), between 2000 and 2014 a staggering 12,373 farmers committed suicide in Tamil Nadu while the agriculture department claimed the number was only 13. While the NCRB says 238,659 farmers committed suicide in India between 2000-2014, the Agriculture Ministry says the number is 18,271.Facing a language barrier, a Chennai-based techie named Pradeep helped this IANS corespondent in translating the ordeal of the Tamil-speaking farmers.Pradeep joined the protest five days back after resigning from a corporate job in Mumbai against his family's will. "When I reached here 24 days had already passed, no one from government, either the state or centre bothered to came and listen them out," said Pradeep.
Pointing towards a farmer named Damodaran, who wears a garland of three human skulls in protest, Pradeep claims that the centre was that of his wife, while other two were of his kin who committed suicide two years ago."He exhumed it and had been since keeping them... he hardly talks," a farmer claimed.Farmers claim that since all the lakes and ponds in the village dried three to four years back, they could only manage water for drinking."I have six acres and there had been hardly any crop since the last four years. We grow corn, rice, chilies and brinjals. I grew corn two years back which dried... Two years back I took a loan of Rs one lakh to support my family and to dig a borewell for water. It was an unsuccessful attempt," Kamaraj, a farmer from Amangudi village in Tiruchirappalli district, said.Kamaraj, along with many other farmers, claimed that they also had to sell off their livestock because of the lack of water."I had two cows and I had to sell one... I am here so as to save my family as this is our last option," Kamaraj added.