A group of sugarcane cultivators attached to the erstwhile private sugar mill at Thirumandankudi in Thanjavur district attempted to show black flags to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during his visit to Thanjavur on Monday.
The demonstrators, who were waiting near the New Bus Stand premises on the Thanjavur-Tiruchi Road, came on to the road waving black cloth when the Chief Minister’s convoy was about to cross the New Bus Stand area. However, they were overpowered by the police and arrested. All the 12 sugarcane cultivators hailing from Thirumandankudi and nearby areas were later released in the evening.
The sugarcane cultivators were on a relay fast at Thirumandankudi for more than two years in support of their demands such as disbursement of cane cost with interest and relieving them from the burden of repayment of bank loans obtained in their names illegally by the previous management of the mill in collusion with bank staff.
