Protests engulf TN for Cauvery Mgmt Board

Two DMK workers allegedly made self immolation bids in Coimbatore today amid a state-wide stir for setting up Cauvery Management Board to implement the Supreme Court's verdict on water allocation among the riparian states.

Amid protests across Tamil Nadu, Governor Banwarilal Purohit left for Delhi by an evening flight, airport officials said.

The stir, being spearheaded by the DMK and a slew of pro-Tamil outfits, saw a slew of sit-ins and demonstrations by students and others at various places, including Chennai, Tiruvarur and Madurai.

According to police, over 1,000 persons were detained across the state in connection with protests and were released later in the day.

The two DMK activists, identified as P T Murugesan and Singai Sadashivam, doused themselves with kerosene and tried to immolate themselves at Coimbatore, police said.

The duo,however, were overpowered by policemen present at the spot and whisked away to a nearby police station, they added.

PMK founder leader Dr S Ramadoss today announced his party's support for tomorrow's call for shutdown by farmers organisations and traders, besides DMK-led opposition parties' bandh on April 5. He said his party would support all Cauvery related protests.

Major Opposition affiliated trade unions, including the LPF (DMK), and AITUC (CPI) meanwhile have decided to support the April 5 bandh. They held meetings in Chennai and Coimbatore to extend support to the shutdown.

Local DMK leaders led the protests across Tamil Nadu for immediate constitution of the CMB in keeping with party chief M K Stalin's statement yesterday that protests would continue till the Board was set up.

In Chennai, the demonstrations were held by DMK workers at several places, including Saidapet where former city Mayor M Subramanian led the stir.

Demonstrations were also held in Thanjavur, the hub of the Cauvery delta region by cadres of various outfits, including DMK, Congress and the Left parties.

DMK has asked its party functionaries to continue "democratic protests till April 4."
Hitting out at the BJP-led Centre for "trampling the rights of Tamil Nadu" on the Cauvery issue, it condemned the ruling AIADMK for "not mounting pressure on the Union government."