Farmers across Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal and Dharmapuri districts burned copies of the Indian Telegraph Act to protest against the installation of high-tension power transmission towers and lines over farm lands.
In Tiruppur, 52 protesters, including four women, were removed by police as they attempted to burn a copy of the Act in front of the District Collectorate. In Coimbatore, 34 protesters were removed by police and were detained in a wedding hall. They were let off in the evening.
In Erode, farmers set ablaze copies of the Act near the Collectorate. The Power Grid Corporation is carrying out works to install towers for the 800 KV Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) - Pugalur (Tiruppur) HVDC power line over farm lands in the district. The work is being carried out with police protection in view of the opposition from farmers. The farmers said that the Act, enacted during the British regime, gave powers to revenue authorities to use private land for installing towers. Police removed 43 persons, including a woman.
In Salem city, police removed 45 persons when they set ablaze copies of the Act near Collectorate. In Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts, farmers courted arrest by burning copies of the Act.
The protesters said if the high-voltage power lines passed over their lands, their value would be reduced. The All India Kisan Sabha alleged that the transmission line were aimed at creating markets in Tamil Nadu and Kerala for the coal-fuelled power generated by big corporate groups in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district. This was not a distribution project, but a transmission line aimed at profits for big corporates, it said. The farmers wanted the transmission lines to be run along along highways, where towers were already installed. They demanded compensation for their land as per market value, as mandated under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013. Over 28 farmers were removed from the protest venue in Krishnagiri and 45 in Dharmapuri
(With inputs from R. Akileish in Coimbatore, S.P, Saravanan in Erode and P.V. Srividya in Dharmapuri)
