Activists target hotels run by Kannadigas to vent ire

Chennai, Apr 3 (UNI) Condemnation of the attacks on Tamils in Karnataka for its opposition to the Hogenakkal project mounted with activists of various political parties targetting hotels run by Kannadigas to vent their ire in the city today.

Police said enraged activists attacked and ransacked the Data Udupi Hotel at Ashok Nagar, Raj Bhavan Hotel at Nungambakkam and the Karnataka Sangha Association in the city.

A group of PMK activists assembled near the Data Udupi Hotel and vandalised it in broad daylight. They also damaged the window panes and broke the furnitures.

Traffic on the busy road connecting West Mambalam and T Nagar through the Duraisamy subway was affected for sometime following the incident.

Later, activists of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) targetted the Karnataka Sabha and attacked it. They also blacked out the Kannada words by painting them with tar.

However, police rushed to the spot and restored normalcy.

In the evening, a group of workers belonging to the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK), barged into the Raja Bhavan Hotel at Nungambakkam near Sterling road junction, and ransacked it.

Acting on a complaint from its owner Balakrishna Bhat, hailing from Karnataka, Nungambakkam police arrested seven people.

Elsewhere in the city, police had so far arrested more than 50 people in connection with the violent incidents, which were seen as act of retaliation following attack on Tamils by pro- Kannada outfits in Karnataka protesting implementation of the Hogenakkal Drinking Water Project.

Incidents of students staging demonstrations, advocates boycotting courts and various groups blackening Kannada words in Karnataka buses and burning of effigies were reported in several parts of Tamil Nadu.

In its general meeting, the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) decided to boycott the court proceedings and stage a demonstration tomorrow protesting against the attack on Tamils in Karnataka.

In a statement, MHAA President R C Paul Kanakaraj said Tamil Nadu Bar Association and Tamil Nadu Puducherry Bar Association members across the state would participate in the stir.

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