Farmers' protests turn city, districts into battleground

The city witnessed a series of protests on Thursday in support of the TN farmers agitation that has been going on for a month near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Traffic movement on the Kathipara junction came to a grinding halt on Thursday morning after a group of youth led by movie director Gowthaman staged a protest by locking up the flyover in support of farmers who have been agitating in New Delhi.

The youth gathered near the flyover around 9 am and tied a metal chain from one end to the other across the road on the flyover, blocking vehicles. Vehicles piled up in a 2.5 km radius and office goers had a torrid time. 

The protesters also raised slogans against both the central and state governments alleging that they remained passive on the issues faced by farming and fishing community. 

Police arrived at the spot around 9.30 am and untied the chain after which traffic gradually returned to normalcy. They also arrested the agitators.

“The Centre has turned a blind eye to all the issues in Tamil Nadu. Though farmers have been protesting in the national capital seeking to waive loans for a month, no steps have been taken to address the issue so far. Similarly, the fishing community is facing harassment from the Sri Lankan navy, but there is no solution in sight,” said one of the protestors. 

Later, the St Thomas Mount police arrested all the agitators. Six persons, including Gowthaman, were remanded.

14 agitators arrested at CMBT 

Around 14 persons were arrested by the CMBT police after they blocked the100 feet road in front of the omni buses complex in Koyambedu. 

According to police, the protestors squatted on the arterial road in front of CMBT and shouted slogans against the Centre. They held flags and waved them towards the public stating that the Centre was not focusing on the issues of Tamil Nadu. 

They then marched towards the omni buses parked behind CMBT and staged a sit-in protest. Police came to the spot and held talks with the agitators, but they refused to budge. Later, the officials bundled them into the police vehicles and took them into custody. 

A senior official from CMBT police station said, “We have detained 14 agitators but they have not been remanded. They would be released after inquiry,  he added. 

The Nungambakkam police arrested 13 Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) cadre after they tried to besiege Shastri Bhavan on Thursday. 

Police said, the agitators gathered near Shastri Bhavan and raised slogans against the Centre for ignoring the TN farmers. They also charged the state government with not taking up the issue seriously. Later, the cadre tried to besiege the Shastri Bhavan. The police prevented the attempt and arrested the agitators. 

“We arrested 13 protestors and released them the same evening,” said an Assistant Commissioner of Police.