Villagers agitate demanding dropping of port project

Puducherry, Apr 13 (UNI) Three police personnel were injured and the windscreen of a Puducherry Road Transport Corporation bus was damaged when the people of Thengaithittu village opposing the port development project, clashed with the police today following a mild lathicharge.

The villagers along with some political party volunteers gathered at the village and organised a mock funeral procession. Keeping the effigy of the Puducherry minister for port in a ''paadai'', a bamboo carrier to take dead bodies to the cremation ground, they took out a mock funeral procession from the village to the Cuddalore road.

After the procession reached a particular area, the police stopped them. A woman in the procession threw chilli powder in the eyes of inspector Ravikumar and in the ensuing melee, police snatched away the 'paadai'. However, the villagers retained possession of the effigy and proceeded further. They burnt the effigy at Marappalam junction, following which the police made arrangements to arrest them.

When surrounded, one of the processionists broke the windscreen of a bus. Police resorted to mild lathicharge and the villagers ran back into the village and pelted stones on the police.

Two constables and inspector Ravikumar were subsequently injured.

They were admitted to the government general hospital here.

Following the incident, heavy police deployment was made under two senior superintedents of police who were posted in Vasanthanagar where tension prevailed.

Meanwhile legislators, Anantharaman(PMK) and K Lakshminarayanan (PMC), held talks with the villagers.

It may be recalled that following opposition to the project, Chief Minister N Rangasamy had announced that there will be no acquisition of land for the project. The Chief Minister also made a statement to this effect in the assembly. The administration would constitute an expert committee to go into the issue and till the report of the committee was received the project would remain suspended, he added.

However, the villagers agitated today demanding that the government drop the project totally.

UNI