Convener of Salem Citizens Forum and environmental activist Piyush Manush has asked the city police to permit him to hoist the national flag on August 15 at the Mookaneri lake which was restored and maintained by the forum.
In his petition submitted to the Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar on Saturday, he said the forum, as part of Independence Day celebration, decided to hoist the national flag at the lake and submitted a letter to the Kannankurichi police station.
Meanwhile, police personnel pasted a notice on the wall of his residence denying permission to hoist the flag at the lake.
According to the notice, the forum was not entitled to hoist the national flag at the lake owing to restoration activities.
When contacted, the local police officers said the permission should come from the Collector and the PWD, Mr. Manush said, asking the Police Commissioner to withdraw the order and allow him to hoist the flag.
The 58-acre lake on the city outskirts belongs to the PWD and the forum had obtained permission from the district administration for restoring the lake.
