M Karunanidhi for protecting interests of farmers hit by GAIL project

CHENNAI: DMK chief M Karunanidhi today urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately take necessary steps to protect the interests of farmers affected by laying of pipeline by Gas Authority India Limited through their cultivable lands.

In a statement, Karunanidhi sought to focus the government's attention to the issue, stating that despite Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urging GAIL for the removal of pipelines passing through farmers' lands in seven districts, no action has been taken in this regard.

He said that farmers from the area have been complaining that GAIL authorities have been maintaining an obdurate stand and were yet to remove those pipelines.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had on March 25 said that government has directed GAIL to lay the pipes on roadsides along the National Highways to ensure that farmers don't lose their arable lands.

She had said, "To enable farmers carry on with their vocation, GAIL should remove pipes which have already been laid and provide compensation to those who have not been given it."