COIMBATORE: Dark clouds of communal violence loom large over the industrial hub of Coimbatore, threatening to disrupt its peace and economic activity. A day after a petrol bomb was flung into a mosque in the city, industrialists and activists have come out calling for peace and harmony. “It took more than 10 years for industries in Coimbatore to re-establish themselves after the 1998 blast,” says J James, president of TACT, an association for cottage and micro industries. “In recent days, we have been witnessing more protests and communal unrest. It is not good for industrial growth,” he said.
Ironically, while both the Hindu Munnani and the Muslim Jamaat had called for a bandh to be observed on Friday, both groups revoked the decision on Thursday night. Unaware, over a thousand shops in the rural pats of Coimbatore did not open on Friday, affecting normal life.
What bandh?
With bandh and counter bandh calls becoming the order of the day, miscommunication over the actual date of lockdown was bound to happen. And happen it did in the city, where a clutch of shops put up the shutters thinking Friday was one of the designated bandh days. While Hindu Munnani on Thursday called for a day-long bandh on Friday to protest against the alleged attack on the fringe outfit’s district secretary Madukkarai Anand, Islamic organisations announced a counter bandh to protest against hurling of petrol bomb on a mosque in the city.
Cadres of both the sides distributed pamphlets and made door-to-door campaigns to ensure strict adherence to bandh call. However, both the sides postponed the bandh to Saturday and failed to communicate the same to their cadre and the public, who had made all the arrangements for the day. As a result, more than a thousand shops and commercial establishments in rural parts of Coimbatore, particularly in Annur, Karumathampatti, Sulur, Somanur and Palladam, downed shutters and normalcy was hit in the localities. A milk trader from Somanur said, “Hindu Munnani cadre distributed pamphlets seeking support for their bandh on Friday.
So I did not procure the milk and closed the shop. Now that I know about Saturday plan, my routine would take a hit.” Police warned of stringent action against those who force the public to shut shops for bandh. “The local police have been told to ensure safety of shops who want to function on Saturday,” a senior police official said. A Hindu Munnani functionary said that the change in plan was not communicated to them on Thursday night. “We would not ask shopkeepers to close their shops on Saturday,” the cadre said. In a statement Hindu Munnani State President Kadeswara C Subramaniam blamed Musilm forums for the confusion. “As Friday is an auspicious day, we postponed the bandh to Saturday. Jamaat organisations announced a bandh on the same day as ours. We assure that the bandh would be held as per then plan on Saturday,” he said.
Businesses worried
Continuous protests and communal unrest is not good for development, said industrialists and urged the Police to ensure industry-friendly atmosphere, and peace across district. Confederation of Indian Textile Industry President T Rajkumar said, “Continuous protests across the district is leading to shutdowns. This will have a major impact on industrial growth.”
Meanwhile, the Forum for Coimbatore People’s Unity, a coalition of several organisations, said the city police would have to bear the responsibility if any untoward incidents were to happen during the bandh.
“During the hearing of a case filed in the High Court by our forum, the public prosecutor assured that the State government would not allow a bandh by any organisation on Saturday. However, shops in Annur and Malumichampatti were forced to shut down even on Friday,” said C Padmanabhan of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhakam.
Forced shutdown?
In Annur locality, cadres of a Hindu outfit were accused of forcing owners to shut shops on Friday. According to local police, a Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) functionary was forced to close his tailor shop at Kemmanaickenpalayam near Annur. On information, police rushed to the spot and held peace talks with both the parties.