fishermen block roads; vehicle traffic on ECR affected

Puducherry, Mar 13 (UNI) Traffic on the East Coast Road (ECR) was affected since 0630 hrs today as fishermen from four coastal villages resorted to road blockades at four different places.

The stir was to protest against the failure of the government to construct new houses for them, who were affected in the tsunami.

The villagers of Kalapet, Chinnakalapet, Kanagachettikkulam and Pillaichavady, obstructed the road this morning. They kept catmarans on the road, fell trees and erected shamianas (pandals) to prepare food in the middle of the road.

As talks by a police force from Puducherry with the protestors went in vain, police used mild force to remove them when they objected to the dismantling of the shamiana near the Engineering college. Even though the police managed to remove one group from a particular village, another group blocked the road as soon as police proceeded to other venue and the same thing repeated in every village. As a result, the agitation was still continuing.

UNI