AIADMK Requested Tamil Nadu Chief Minister To Initiate Steps To Prevent Farmer Suicides Over The Pipeline Project

The opposition AIADMK requested Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to meet on Saturday with the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) to discuss putting pipelines along national highways, as well as taking efforts to prevent farmer suicides in the state as a result of the project.

O Panneerselvam, the party's coordinator, also urged the chief minister to start providing solatium to the family of a Dharmapuri farmer who reportedly committed suicide because he feared his land would be taken for the Kochi-Kuttanadu-Mangaluru-Bengaluru (KKMB) project, which spans seven western districts of the state.

He said that the GAIL project was halted during the AIADMK rule, but that it resumed in July of last year. Officials began surveying the site and began work on the project.

Panneerselvam explained tha cause of the death that the farmer Ganesan committed suicide by hanging himself in Kariappanahalli village lately, fearing that his land will be taken up for the project.

He added further that news of Ganesan's reported suicide has caused immense distress. The government should compensate his family and take steps to prevent farmers in the state from committing suicide

He urged the Chief Minister to meet with GAIL officials as soon as possible to ensure that pipelines are installed along national highways without damaging farmland, as was done in Kerala.

He mentioned that the KKMB pipeline project was being initiated from Kochi to Bengaluru, passing through Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri districts.