Rail traffic hit for second day as parties continue blockade

Chennai: The train blockade protest against Centre's opposition to the Supreme Court verdict to form Cauvery Management Board continued for the second day, with most of the trains in the delta region remaining cancelled and the few trains operated stopped by protesting farmers at various places.

All the trains operated or through Tiruvarur railway station were cancelled and most of the railway stations in the delta wore a deserted look since passengers, aware of the impact of the Monday protests, avoided travel on Tuesday.

At Egmore in Chennai, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan blocked Varanasi Express for about half-an-hour.

Vaiko, who spoke to mediapersons on the railway platform, said they had blocked the Varanasi bound train as it happens to be the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders along with their supporters climbed over the train engine and shouted slogans for some time, before getting arrested by the police.

CPI state secretary R. Mutharasan was arrested for the second consecutive day at Tiruvarur railway station. On Tuesday, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi leader M.H. Jawahirullah too took part in the agitations at Tiruvarur. Mutharasan warned that protests in Tamil Nadu would intensify if the Centre continued to support Karnataka and blocked the formation of CMB.

In Thanjavur, Tamil Maanila Congress leader G.K. Vasan and Vanigar Sangangalin Koottamaippu leader T. Vellaiyan were arrested when they stopped the trains starting from the Thanjavur railway station. Vasan said his party would not allow the methane gas project and similar schemes that would affect cultivation in the delta districts. Naam Thamizhar leader P. Seeman, accompanied by his supporters was arrested at Central railway stations when they squatted on the railway tracks and tried to block the trains.

DMK functionaries and cadre too continued their protests throughout the state. In Nannilam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Kudavasal, Vaiyakolathur, Needamangalam and Koradacherry, DMK functionaries accompanied the farmers in train blockade. The DMK and PWA activists intensified their agitations in the southern and western districts of Erode, Salem and Dharmapuri.

The Cholan Express stopped at midnight by the farmers, who did not leave the tracks during night time too. The train was halted at Sirkazhi railway station as it was unable to proceed to its destination.

Farmers stopped trains at Kodikkalpalayam, Mudikondan, Kulikkarai, Koradacherry, Kovil Venni and Mannargudi. The railways was totally unprepared for this kind of protest, despite the farmers and political parties announcing it two weeks earlier. The protesters had announced that it would not be like the usual rail roko protest when the agitators resort to token protest and court arrest.