Farmers opposed to the laying of pipeline by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) through agricultural lands carried out a hunger protest all through Friday near the Taluk Office in Sulur.
The farmers demanded immediate halt of the pipeline work by BPCL, under its Irugur-Devengothi Pipeline (IDPL) project, along the 70-km distance from Coimbatore to Muthur cutting across farmlands. This segment is part of the 270-km long pipeline work from Coimbatore to Bengaluru being taken up by the BPCL.
Two rounds of talks between representatives of the protesting farmers and the senior officials of the district administration did not yield results.
The protests continued by the roadside late into night on Friday. A large posse of policemen stood guard.
The farmers have conveyed to the district administration their protest will continue until their demand is fulfilled.
Espousing the cause of the protesting farmers, functionaries of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Protection Movement assailed the State Government saying it has gone back on its election promise to ensure laying of such pipelines along the highway.
The pipeline, the farmers’ association pointed out, has dealt a blow to the livelihood of farmers by bringing down the land value drastically.
Published - November 15, 2024 09:00 pm IST
