Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Chennai: Farmers and opposition parties in the south eastern Indian Tamil Nadu state on Monday staged rail roko (train blockade) agitation at various places in the state demanding the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board immediately.
The protests were held against the stance of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government in the Supreme Court which opposed immediate setting up of the Board.
Thousands of protestors participated in the train blockade demonstrations, who courted arrest and were lodged in the community and marriage halls, police said.
The agitations marked the beginning of a 48-hour rail blockade by farmers outfits which has the support of opposition parties including the DMK, Tamil Nadu Congress, IUML, CPI(M), CPI, MDMK and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.
Farmer leader and chief of National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association P Ayyakannu led the protest in Tiruchirappalli by squatting over the railway track in Kudamuratti bridge area.
Ryots squatted on railway tracks with green turbans and planted paddy seedlings in the narrow gap between railway tracks. They managed to block trains briefly but were removed later by police.
"We will continue our stir. Tomorrow (Tuesday) too this will be held. We plan to block Vaigai Super Fast Express. We urge the Centre to not make us paupers, (by adopting a stance against CMB)" Ayyakannu told PTI.
Similar protests witnessed huge participation of people in the entire Cauvery Delta region of the state including Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts.
DMK treasurer and Leader of Opposition M K Stalin led the protest at Perambur suburban railway station in which scores of his party legislators and functionaries took part.
Leading the protestors, he blocked a suburban train, following which he along with party cadres was taken away by police from the railway station.
MDMK chief Vaiko and CPI(M) State Secretary G Ramakrishnan squatted on railway track at the busy Chennai Central Railway station.
Similarly, CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan participated in a rail roko stir in Tiruvarur district.
Meanwhile, reports from Madurai said, train services in Madurai and Tiruchirappalli divisions were affected as hundreds of farmers and members of various political parties blocked or attempted to block the rail traffic at various places, demanding constitution of the Cauvery Management Board.
Officials said, the train services were delayed by 10 minutes to half an hour.
Madurai City Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse a strong crowd belonging to various opposition parties, when they insisted on staging a rail roko and attempted to enter the railway junction, they said.
Around five persons suffered simple injuries in the lathi charge.
Leader of South Indian River Linking Movement, Ayyakannu was arrested at Kudamurutti Kudisai while he blocked the rail tracks on Tiruchi-Karur section.
Party members and farmers put up a hut on the track to block the train near Kudamurutti.
Hundreds of DMK cadres blocked the train traffic in Pudukottai.
In Cuddalore, over 700 farmers and cadres of political parties tried to enter the railway station for staging a rail roko agitation.Police had to resort to mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
Nearly 300 persons were arrested, police said.
In Erode district, several farmers and opposition party workers who attempted to enter the Erode Railway Station were arrested by the police.
