Trichy (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 25 : A group of farmers of Tamil Nadu led by Ayyakannu, State President of the National South Indian Rivers Linking Farmers' Association on Tuesday held a sit-in demonstration at the Tiruchirappalli Railway Junction, demanding a full refund for train tickets after being informed that their legal summons to appear in Nagpur had been revoked.
On Tuesday, 10 farmers led by Ayyakkannu reached the Tiruchirappalli Railway Junction, stating that they planned to travel to Nagpur in a semi-nude protest as a mark of dissent. However, RPF personnel informed them that the summons issued for their appearance had been cancelled and advised them to return home.
Following the incident, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Nagpur registered a case against the protesting farmers and issued summons directing them to appear before the RPF court in Nagpur on February 26.
Subsequently, the farmers staged a sit-in protest at the railway station, demanding full compensation for the train tickets purchased earlier for their Delhi protest. The protest created tense moments at the station, and passengers reportedly faced inconvenience.
Farmers led by Ayyakkannu, who had travelled to Delhi on November 20 demanding remunerative prices for agricultural produce and waiver of loans obtained from nationalised banks, were earlier deboarded from a train at Nagpur and detained.
Earlier, farmers of Tamil Nadu led by Ayyakannu, State President of the National South Indian Rivers Linking Farmers' Association, staged a unique protest in front of the Trichy District Collectorate, accusing both the Central and State governments of betraying the farming community.
The protesters alleged that governments have failed to provide remunerative prices for agricultural produce, have not waived farm loans taken from cooperative banks in Tamil Nadu, and have not taken steps to store water by constructing check dams across the Cauvery River. Due to these failures, they claimed, farmers are once again being pushed into extreme distress, symbolically described as being driven to a situation of "eating rats".
The farmers raised slogans demanding that the government stop treating farmers merely as a vote bank during elections and then neglecting them afterwards. They urged immediate policy action to protect farmers' livelihoods and ensure water security.
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