Chennai: The shutdown called by all opposition parties in the state led by the DMK protesting Centre’s failure to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) within six weeks of the Supreme Court’s February 16 order has disrupted normal life in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
Chennai’s key roads came to a standstill as there were traffic blockades everywhere with the protesting DMK and other opposition parties, carried flags moving towards the Marina beach and broke police cordons.
Many leaders from all political parties which included Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK), Viduthalai Thamizh Puligal Katchi (VTPK) and Social Democratic Party of India and MDMK took part in the protests against the Centre due to their delay in setting up the CMB.
Acting chief of DMK, MK Stalin, was held up by the police in Chennai’s Anna Salai as he led the march towards Marina. Hundreds of other party supporters have also been detained.
In the capital Chennai, very few government buses were seen running on the roads while most autorickshaws stayed away from the pathways; private taxi services, however, were available for the commuters. Suburban and long distance trains worked as usual, said a Southern Railway official. There were reports of brief protests on the rail tracks in Salem and Tirunelvelli areas but the police dispersed protesters.
In the hosiery town of Tiruppur, many manufacturing units were closed in support of the strike and many trade houses in Erode, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram were also shut.
In neighbouring Puducherry, transport services were affected while three buses belonging to Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation were also damaged. The Puducherry government, on Thursday, moved to Supreme Court, with an interlocutory application seeking direction to the Centre to implement Cauvery water verdict as soon as possible. On April 2, the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately act over the Cauvery issue.
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