In Kerala, farmers lay siege to collectorate

Addressing the gathering, Infam national secretary Chakkochan Pullanthanni said the farming community would continue their protest till the government agreed to write off all farm loans.

A.C. Varkey, leader of the Farmers’ Relief Forum (FRF), urged all farmers’ organisations to put up a united resistance against the government. It is the duty of the MLAs and ministers to chalk out a strategy to sort out the issue, Varkey said. The farmers also took an oath to ‘‘boycott politics’’. Work at the Collectorate was brought to a grinding halt as the officials, including the District Collector, could not get into the building.

Another suicide

KALPETTA: One more farmer, unable to pay off his rising debts, committed suicide in Wayanad district on Thursday, sources said. Athinilam Ananthan, 60, a daily wage labourer, who had been missing since Wednesday, was found hanging from a tree near his house by relatives and neighbours on Thursday morning.