Tension of rod connecting two cylinders

[haruspex]

How would you define the quantity required to find in the problem then? Torsion sure ain't measured in Newtons.

No, it's a torque, in Newton metres.

 

[zemaitistrys]

No, it's a torque, in Newton metres.

It was specified to find a force, the distinction is quite clear in the language the problem is written in.

 

[haruspex]

It was specified to find a force, the distinction is quite clear in the language the problem is written in.

Then I see no way to answer the question.

Edit: maybe I do...
The original post said, specifically, a tension. Let's ignore that, and also suppose the rod acts as a smooth axle for each cylinder, so cannot exert an axial torque. For simplicity, suppose it contacts each cylinder only at two bearings, one at each end of the cylinder.
There will be four forces on the rod from these bearings. Each is parallel to the plane and normal to the rod.
The combination of the two forces from one cylinder can be thought of as one force plus a torque normal to the plane. If we ignore the torque, we could consider this net force as the force the question is after.