Environmental activist Piyush Manush, who was arrested on July 8 along with two of his friends when they attempted to prevent the construction of a flyover at Mulvadi Gate in Salem, has found support online with a petition seeking his release on bail gaining attention.
On Thursday, Judicial Magistrate M Kalaivani, dismissed the bail plea of Piyush Manush, while the two others were granted conditional bail. Police opposed granting bail to the activist citing three other cases of law and order issues that had been registered against him.
The denial of bail to Manush prompted a Change.org online petition for the release of the activist. The online petition has garnered 9,000 supporters in just a week and is gaining more prominence on social media, as other environmental activists have also begun speaking up on the issue.
Piyush Manush, who is a part of the Salem Citizen Forum, is well known for the restoration and conservation of the formerly polluted 58-acre Mookaneri Lake (58-acre) in Salem. He has also made contributions to revive other water bodies in different parts of Tamil Nadu and worked for other environmental causes, apart from standing up to the land mafia and fighting against encroachment of eco-sensitive lands.
