Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Bandh in Coimbatore passes off peacefully

Staff Reporter

The protest was to demand inclusion of Coimbatore and Tirupur in Salem rail division Protest was to demand inclusion of Coimbatore , Tirupur in Salem Railway Division

COIMBATORE: The 12-hour bandh called by the Salem Railway Division Protection Struggle Committee demanding inclusion of Coimbatore and Tirupur in the new division was near-total and passed off peacefully.

Shops and commercial establishments put up the shutters from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Buses and autorickshaws kept off the road. Even tea stalls remained closed. Most of the educational institutions declared a holiday.

Some day scholar students returned home, waiting for the college buses. Some colleges functioned with only hostellers attending the classes. The police made tight security arrangements.

The day passed off even without a stray incident of violence, Police Commissioner C.K. Gandhi Rajan said.

The inter-State traffic on NH 47 was diverted along the bypass road. The traffic on the other arterial roads was also diverted to skip the city.

Commotion prevailed at the Coimbatore Junction when some students of the Government Law College squatted on the track at 8 a.m. blocking the Palakkad - Tiruchi passenger. The police removed them.

Around 11.30 a.m., activists of all political parties, under the banner of the struggle committee, squatted on the track and blocked the Gorakhpur - Thiruvanathapuram Express and raised slogans against the Kerala Chief Minister. The police removed them.

The Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam activists, led by general secretary K. Ramakrishnan, burnt the effigy of Southern Railway General Manager Thomas Varghese, accusing him of trying to stall the formation of the division and trying to retain Coimbatore and Tirupur with the Palakkad Division. Two activists were arrested for allegedly stopping the Sabari Express from Hyderabad bound for Palakkad at Madukkarai by pulling the alarm chain.

Train detained

Our Tirupur Staff Reporter writes:

More than 150 activists of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and Rail Passengers Welfare Association on Tuesday detained Kharagpur-Thiruvanthapuram Express at Tirupur railway station for over 30 minutes protesting against the Kerala Government's action of pressuring the Centre to retain Tirupur, Coimbatore and Pothanur under the Palakkad Division.

The agitators were later removed by the police.

Bandh in Tirupur

on Friday

Urging the Railway Ministry to stick to the original plan of bringing Coimbatore and Tirupur under the Salem Division and protesting against the Kerala's "attempts" to retain this corridor in the Palakkad Division, all parties, service organisations and trade bodies here have called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh on Friday.

The decision was taken at a meeting held here on Tuesday and presided over by South India Hosiery Manufacturers' Association president Mohan P. Kandasamy. Coimbatore MP K. Subbarayan of the CPI and Tirupur municipal chairman K. Selvaraj of the DMK were present.

Barring the Bharatiya Janata Party and the CPI (M), representatives of all parties attended in the meeting.

The Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA), the Knit Cloth Exporters' Association and various trade bodies have supported the call.

Against interest

Mr. Subbarayan said there should not be any re-consideration of the jurisdiction of the new division. The Kerala Government and MPs from that State, he said, were hurting the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu by trying to retain these areas in the Palakkad division.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's decision to hold talks with the Chief Ministers of the two States was against the interests of Tamil Nadu.

Revenue

As for the revenue loss to the Palakkad Division due to the bifurcation, Mr. Subbarayan said all the revenue — be it from Palakkad or Salem — would go to the Railways.

Knitwear units, industrial houses, educational institutions, shops and eateries would not function on Friday. Buses and vans would keep off the road.

Change in boundary not acceptable: TEA

In a statement, TEA president A. Sakthivel said the people here were surprised and shocked over the remarks by the Railway Minister. He wondered how Mr. Yadav could make such a statement when his ministry had already approved the boundary for the Salem Railway Division.

He said the new division was created after considering the demand of the people of this region pending for over 40 years. Any change in the boundary from the original plan would not be acceptable.

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