City’s peaceful, but quiet

Normalcy returned to the city, after the anxiety caused by the sporadic clashes and subsequent shutdown of Saturday.

September 29, 2014 02:07 am | Updated November 27, 2021 06:55 pm IST - CHENNAI:

A police bus blocks entrance to Avvai Shanmugam Salai, near the residence of DMK chief Karunanidhi - Photo: M. Vedhan

A police bus blocks entrance to Avvai Shanmugam Salai, near the residence of DMK chief Karunanidhi - Photo: M. Vedhan

Normalcy returned to the city on Sunday, after the anxiety caused by the sporadic clashes and subsequent shutdown of Saturday. The presence of police patrol vehicles at important junctions since Saturday night also seems to have helped.

Establishments, cinema theatres and restaurants that had shut shop on Saturday evening due to security fears resumed regular operations on Sunday. Similarly, buses also began plying.

The conviction of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in Bangalore had caused an outpouring of emotions among her partymen on Saturday evening with the city coming to standstill amid clashes between AIADMK and DMK cadre, damage to MTC buses, threats to shops and self-immolation bids.

Absence of police personnel in several places in the city on Saturday afternoon had led to the security situation deteriorating, putting the public to a lot of inconvenience. With MTC stopping bus services and autos refusing to ply, most people had to depend on train services.

A senior official of the city police said the commissioner, assisted by three additional commissioners and six joint commissioners, has been monitoring the security situation closely from Saturday evening.

He said eight special police companies and 2,500 armed police have been deployed along with the entire city police force to maintain law and order. 240 special teams have been posted at important locations in the city, he added.

The Gopalapuram area, where DMK leader Karunanidhi resides, has become a fortress in the wake of clashes on Saturday between cadre of the two parties. Heavy police presence was evident in the area and temporary barricades were installed at street junctions.

The police officer said that he was confident that the situation was under control and did not foresee any security issues in the city.

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