Kovai students express support for anti-hydrocarbon agitations

The protest was organised by ‘ Methane Thitaatthuku Ethira na Manavar Iyakkam ’ (Students Movement Against Methane Project) that was formed two years ago to oppose the earlier venture in the delta region. They alleged that the state government was hand in glove with the Centre to put an end to the protests than protecting the interests of the farmers and villagers who would be innocent victims of the project. One of the coordinators of the organisation, on condition of anonymity, said that earlier this week they sought permission from the Kattoor police to observe a fast to express their solidarity with the protesters at Neduvasal. 

On Friday evening the police denied permission for the same. “Since cops denied permission for the democratic protest at Kattoor, we are staging a demonstration here but without police permission,” he said. The student protesters said that one of them went to Neduvasal and took part in the protest there for a day, following which the protest was organised on Saturday. The protesters also claimed that the organisation formed two years ago, has its presence in eight colleges in Coimbatore city.