Farmers press for Cauvery board

Tiruchirapalli:  Symbolising death to highlight their plight, a group of farmers on Friday buried themselves neck deep in the dry riverbed near here as they pressed for setting up of the Cauvery Management Board.

Resorting to a mock funeral, the farmers led by P Ayyakannu with rose garlands around their necks got themselves into pits on the Cauvery riverbed at Srirangam.

Mr Ayyakannu in a bizarre protest in New Delhi last year had led Tamil Nadu farmers in symbolically biting rats and going naked to press their demand for a Rs 40,000 crore drought-relief package from the centre.

On Friday, he and others sought to drive home the point that the farmers were facing a near death situation due to non-availability of Cauvery water for irrigation.

Choosing the famous temple town of Srirangam, encircled by the river Cauvery and its tributary Kollidam in the heart of the delta region, the farmers staged the ‘burial protest’ for nearly two hours.

Later they were removed  by police personnel with the help of volunteers.