Cuddalore: Stretching their Cauvery agitation further to directly target Karnataka for denying waters, several members of the Tamilar Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) led by T. Velmurugan and his allies in the campaign for Cauvery courted arrest while trying to picket the Neyveli Lignite Corporation near here demanding that NLC must stop supply its power to Karnataka.
Neyveli and neighbourhood wore a tense look even from Monday as Velmurugan had given the call for picketing the Central PSU to pressure Delhi to act fast on the Supreme Court order on Cauvery. His allies, Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam leader Kolathur Mani, Tamil nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran, farmers’ leader Ayyakannu and representatives of the ‘Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu’, marched from the NLC general hospital towards the power generation units along with a large group of followers, raising slogans against the Centre and against Karnataka.
The protesters demanded that NLC should switch off supplies to Karnataka as that state refused to cooperate in implementing the Supreme Court verdict on the sharing of Cauvery waters between the riparian states.
The output from two of the thermal power stations in NLC are being shared by the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
The police stopped the marchers at the ‘Q’ bridge and when they refused to disperse peacefully, took them into custody. They were released later in the day.
