CUDDALORE/CHENNAI: The bandh called by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in Cuddalore district on Saturday to protest against the Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited’s (NLCIL) land acquisition for the second coal mine extension works in Valaiyamadevi, Keezhvalaiyamadevi, and Karivetti villages near Vadalur evoked tepid response with most shops being operated as usual with police protection.
While TNSTC, SETC, and many private bus services were operated normally, private buses from Puducherry were stopped at Cuddalore district border till afternoon. At least 252 PMK functionaries, including 40 in Cuddalore, were arrested by police as a precautionary measure when they gathered near Uzhavar Sandhai for protest on Saturday morning. Three PMK functionaries were also arrested in Neyveli for threatening vendors to close their shops in Indra Nagar. Police are searching unidentified people for hurling stones on a TNSTC bus plying from Periyasevalai in Kallakurichi district to Panruti in Cuddalore district on Friday night and on a tea shop at Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, on Saturday morning.
“To ensure that the bandh did not disrupt normalcy, 7,000 police personnel were deployed across the district under the supervision of north zone IG N Kannan, DIGs P Pakalavan of Kancheepuram range and M Pandian of Villupuram range, and 10 SPs,” a police source said.
Earlier, villagers and farmers opposed to the acquisition of 25,000 acres of land by NLCIL for expansion work demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore per acre of land and permanent jobs for members of the families who gave the land. As a precautionary measure, police also arrested Bhuvanagiri ADMK MLA A Arunmozhithevan on Friday.
Anbumani Ramadoss, former union health minister and leader of Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), in a press conference in Chennai on Saturday, said the bandh is not just about an issue concerning 10 or 15 villages but an issue covering Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, and Mayiladuthurai districts. He added that before NLCIL came, groundwater was available at eight feet, but now it has gone down to a depth of 1,000 feet in Cuddalore. He also questioned why the DMK is supporting NLCIL when they oppose all other decisions of the central government.
Anbumani Ramadoss said the NLCIL has turned the land into a desert in Neyveli. Tamil Nadu requires 18,000 to 20,000 megawatts of electricity per day, but NLCIL is only providing 800 megawatts, he said.