After Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's assurance and several rounds of talks held by Pudukottai district collector, the farmers insist that the Centre should scrap the project to end the agitation.
The farmers protest in Neduvasal against the hydrocarbon extraction project is emerging as a yet another jallikattu type uprising with protesters refusing to call off the agitation until the Centre issues an order to scrap the project.
After Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's assurance and several rounds of talks held by Pudukottai district collector, the farmers insist that the Centre should scrap the project to end the agitation.
A group of farmers held talks with Union Minister of State Pon. Radhakrishnan who hails from Tamil Nadu, in connection with the hydrocarbon extraction project on Saturday evening.
Neduvasal farmers are also likely to meet Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi to order to talk to him about cancelling the project.
The protest commenced a day after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15 approved 31 contract areas including Neduvasal and Karaikal in Puducherry as part of its policy to tap small oil and gas fields. But the protest was overshadowed by the ongoing factional feud in the ruling AIADMK.
As the protest entered 17th day on Saturday, the Neduvasal continued to attract thousands of youths and students from across the state. The main contention raised by the villagers was that the oil and gas extraction would result in depletion of groundwater and ingression of saline water beside polluting the fertile agricultural lands. "Our main source of livelihood is agriculture. We will not allow anybody to destroy our life," said S Velu of Save Neduvasal committee.
The ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has clarified that oil and gas extraction are being carried out from deeper earth area and it does not affect groundwater aquifers which are located at much shallower levels.
Chief minister Palaniswami who met the Neduvasal protestors at the secretariat on March 1 assured that state government would not granted permission for the project against the wished of the local people. The protesters rejected his assurance demanding the centre to give an order in this regard to the end the agitation.
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