Tiruvaiyaru bypass row: Farmers block earth movers, gravel for laying road

THANJAVUR: Tension prevailed at Kandiyur in the district as the farmers protesting against the Tiruvaiyaru bypass project blocked the earth movers and the trucks carrying gravel to lay the road, on Friday. The announcement of the project to lay the bypass road for Tiruvaiyaru town, which will pass through arable lands in the villages of Tiruvaiyaru, Perumpuliyur, Kalyanapuram, Keezhathirupponthurthi, Kandiyur and Manakkarambai for a distance of 6.5 km, has triggered concerns among the farmers of their livelihood being at stake.

Even as the Union road transport ministry issued a notification to acquire around 100 acres for the project, the farmers who owned the land filed their objections. The government, however, is going ahead with the `191-crore project. As a result, gravel was recently dumped in the fields where samba paddy is being cultivated by the farmers.

Following this, the farmers commenced a relay fast at Kandiyur on Wednesday. On Friday several farmers blocked the earth movers and the lorries by squatting before them. They also waved black flags and raised slogans demanding the scrapping of the bypass project. A large contingent of police soon arrived at the spot and asked the farmers to disperse.

As the farmers did not budge, police personnel forcibly removed them, sources said. The farmers said they were not given any notice or compensation and added that they were against destroying the standing crops. After around 45 minutes the farmers dispersed and continued their hunger strike. P Sukumaran, the deputy secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, led the protest.