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Official meets protesting farmers in India

Xinhua, April 23, 2017 Adjust font size:

The chief minister of southern India state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday visited protesting farmers in New Delhi and urged them to end their protest.

Edappadi Palaniswami along with top officials reached Jantar Mantar in Indian capital city, where drought-hit farmers from his state are on indefinite protest, demanding relief package from the federal government.

"The chief minister assured the farmers that he will take up their demands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," a senior official of local Tamil Nadu government told Xinhua.

Palaniswami has already met senior ministers in New Delhi over the issue of farmers and now is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Farmers in Tamil Nadu are reeling under severe stress due to two successive years of drought.

For the past 40 days, they are camping at Jantar Mantar, demanding loan waivers and a relief package of 61 billion U.S. dollars to compensate their losses.

The frustrated farmers have been resorting to bizarre protests to draw federal government's attention toward their plight.

On Saturday the farmers drank their urine in protest.

"The Indian government is not giving us water. So we have no other way but to consume urine," P Ayyakkannu, the man heading the protesting farmers said. "In order to wake up the government here we will eat our faeces. We have nothing to eat back home as we are severely hit by drought."

From wearing human skulls to eating grass, mice and pieces of snakes the farmers have been staging mock funerals, tonsuring heads, slashing hands and even stripping naked at Raisina Hill, in a bid to make their voices heard.

Raisina hill is an important location in New Delhi housing India's most important government buildings, including the residence of the president of India and prime minister's office besides several other important ministries.

In January this year the local government in Tamil Nadu declared all districts of the state drought-hit following a deficit in the northeast monsoon in 2016. Endit