Our Bureau Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five-tier security and a commute predominantly by helicopter did not thwart protesters from gathering in large numbers in select places to display black flags and float black balloons. The city has been at the forefront of protests over the delay in the setting up of the Supreme Court-mandated Cauvery Management Board.
Elaborate steps were taken to keep the PM hidden from public view during his visit. He was whisked away from the airport to the DefExpo in a chopper. A helipad was specially created for him at IIT-Madras and a compound wall broken so that he could avoid the main road to reach the adjacent Cancer Institute, where he inaugurated the diamond jubilee building.
However, he could not escape a few IIT students, who silently held posters for the CMB as he exited the chopper and got into the car to go to the Cancer Institute.
Elsewhere in the State thousands of protesters were arrested. While Modi spoke about India’s defence philosophy, spread of communicable diseases and even allayed fears over the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission, he chose to stay mum on the Cauvery Management Board.
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