Protesting TN farmers at Jantar Mantar drink urine

Grabbing eyeballs with their novel way of protest, farmers from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Saturday drank urine in another desperate bid to draw the government's attention towards their plight.

Over the last 39 days, the farmers have protested in different ways, such as by shaving half of their moustache and head, keeping mice and snakes in their mouth, conducting mock funerals, flogging themselves and carrying skulls of other farmers, who had committed suicide due to debt pressure. The farmers, whose protest entered the 40th day on Saturday, drank urine even as police tried to stop them.

They have been demanding a loan waiver, a revised drought relief package and better support prices for their produce.

P Ayyakkannu, who is leading the protest, said: "The Union government is not giving us water. So we are consuming urine."

The protesters had on Friday said they would drink urine if the Centre failed to offer a solution to their problems within a day.