Coimbatore: A group of farmers boycotted the grievance redressal meeting held in Coimbatore on Friday and instead staged a protest at the district collectorate, demanding that the district administration declare Coimbatore a drought-hit area due to depleting groundwater levels and the deficit in the southwest monsoon. They also demanded that the chief minister announce a full loan waiver for farmers as promised in TVK’s election manifesto.Tension prevailed at the district collectorate as farmers wearing black shawls boycotted the meeting and raised slogans against the state government. They protested within the premises, demanding that the government fulfil its election promises. Police deployed in the premises held talks with the farmers and later evicted them.Speaking to reporters, Su Palanisamy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, demanded that the government announce a crop loan waiver during the upcoming agriculture budget scheduled for August 6. “The protest was organised to remind the government of its promise and reinstate our demands,” he said. Palanisamy further clarified that their intention was neither to create a law-and-order problem nor to obstruct the functioning of the district administration.He added that Tamil Nadu was facing an acute rainfall deficit and urged that the district be declared drought-hit. “The rainfall received in the last two months is very less and farmers across the district have been affected with either no yield or less yield.”The association has also petitioned ministers from Coimbatore, Erode and Salem districts urging that the government hold talks with farmers at the earliest. Farmers warned that they would intensify their agitation if the government failed to address their demands.
