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  India   Tamil Nadu ]bandh peaceful, protesters detained

Tamil Nadu ]bandh peaceful, protesters detained

PTI
Published : Sep 17, 2016, 1:23 am IST
Updated : Sep 17, 2016, 1:23 am IST

Friday’s dawn-to-dusk Tamil Nadu bandh on the Cauvery issue, called by associations of farmers and traders, passed off peacefully even as Opposition leaders, including DMK’s M.K.

Friday’s dawn-to-dusk Tamil Nadu bandh on the Cauvery issue, called by associations of farmers and traders, passed off peacefully even as Opposition leaders, including DMK’s M.K. Stalin and Kanimozhi, courted arrest while leading protest demonstrations in various parts of the state.

The day was marked by a slew of agitations and attempts to block trains and roads by supporters of the bandh, including Opposition parties, across the state. Attempts to stop the Vaigai Express at Dindigul station was foiled by the police.

Hundreds of protesters were held as majority of shops and business establishments across Tamil Nadu downed their shutters in support of the bandh, the police said.

They were protesting incidents of violence targeting Tamilians in Karnataka, and demanding a long-term solution to the vexed inter-state river water issue. Restaurants, shops and petrol pumps remained closed till 6 pm in the state. However, the bandh did not affect functioning of state and Central government offices, their undertakings, banks and PSUs though many of them witnessed thin attendance.

Also, government, state-aided and most of the private schools and colleges functioned albeit with lesser turnout.

Government-run buses and trains plied as usual, though most autorickshaws, taxis, private trucks and commercial freight operators chose to go off the roads.

In Chennai, Mr Stalin, the DMK treasurer, who led a rally to the Egmore railway terminal, was detained along with hundreds of party workers when they squatted in front of the terminal attempting to launch a rail roko agitation.

He told reporters that his party would support chief minister Jayalalithaa if she meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah over the Cauvery issue. He accused her of “only writing letters”.