The strike called by Opposition parties demanding the formation of Cauvery Management Board (CMB) evoked overwhelming response in both Salem and Namakkal districts affecting the normal life.
Barring an incident of throwing an ignited petrol filled bottle on the Salem South Post Office in the city and stones on two corporation buses at Pallipalayam in Namakkal district, the day passed off peacefully in these districts.
About 90 % of the shops were closed and all the major vegetable, flower and fruit markets did not function.
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All the TNSTC buses plied as usual in the city and also in the rural areas, but with less occupants. A majority of the autorickshaws were off the road.
The Inter-State buses between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were not operated at the Palar boder at Kolathur. Both the TNSTC and the KSRTC buses plied upto their respective borders.
Hundreds of political party activists, led by R. Rajendran, MLA, gathered in front of the Railway Junction and attempted to block the trains. Some of them carried empty pots. The police put up barricades and prevented them, leading to wordy duel between both the groups.
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Some of them managed to break the police cordon and enter the junction. They sat on railway tracks in front of the Chennai – Coimbatore inter-city express raising slogans. The police rounded up more than 600 persons, including T.M. Selvaganapathi, a former Minister.
Another group blocked the Jolarpet – Erode passenger at Magudanchavadi railway station. S.R. Sivalingam, Salem west district secretary and K. P. Ramalingam, a former MP, led the agitation. The police arrested 150 of them.
At Kondalampatti junction in the city, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami were burnt in effigy.
The police arrested more than 2,800 activists in the Salem district.
About 700 railway employees affiliated to SRMU attended the duty by wearing black badges, according to M. Govindan, divisional secretary of the union.
Namakkal
In Namakkal district, the Opposition parties tried to block trains at Rasipuram, Mohanur, and Pallipalayam railway stations.
BAR Elangovan, in-charge of the East district unit of the DMK, led a group of activists in picketting buses in Namakkal town. More than 25,000 powerloom units downed shutters.
An SETC bus and a TNSTC bus were damaged when unidentified persons threw stones at them at Pallipalayam. The police have picked up two persons for questioning.
The police said that 1,498 people, including 67 women, were arrested from different parts of the district.
Lorries affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Federation were off the road to express solidarity with the strike. The members Federation of Bar Associations of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry boycotted courts.