Police arrested over 150 Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) volunteers and general public when they blocked the main road at Ilayankudi on Wednesday, demanding cleaning up of waterbodies and seeking other basic amenities, including bus stand.
Expressing solidarity with the TMMK, which coordinated the agitation, about 300 shopkeepers downed shutters and six associations put up posters, condemning the district administration and local town panchayat for failing to fulfil their demands for the past three years.
Traffic was disrupted for about 40 minutes when the protestors blocked the road before police arrested them. After detaining them in a marriage hall, the police released them in the evening.
TMMK spokesman N. Sheik Ibrahim said the people had been demanding removal of karuvelam trees (prosopis juliflora) in and around the Public Works Department kanmai and two ooranies, located inside Ilayankudi but the authorities did not take any action.
Whenever they staged protests, peace committees were formed and the Tahsildar and the Revenue Divisional Officer gave assurances to clean up the waterbodies and remove karuvelam trees but nothing was done, he said.
The PWD kanmai and ooranies were the main sources of drinking water but they had been dry for the past several years, forcing people to buy drinking water for Rs. 10 a pot, he said.
The people relied on Cauvery water for most of their use, but it was supplied only once in three days, he said.
Ilayankudi did not have a bus stand and the existing bus stop was being used as the bus stand. Sewage in wards 10, 11 and 12 formed a pond in the middle of a residential area, causing health hazards, he added.
