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Chennai shut down on Thursday following a day-long bandh called by Opposition parties demanding the establishment of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) by the Centre as mandated by the Supreme Court.
The protest was led by MK Stalin, Working President, DMK and its ally, the Congress. Trade union Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peravai too participated in the protest as announced by its president T Vellaiyan on Wednesday, resulting in the shut-down of all shops in the city.
The participation was enthusiastic across the State including major cities and towns.
Traffic was sparse even during the peak hours in Chennai. Most business establishments were closed, with shops, hotels and even roadside stalls shut down across the city. Even central business districts, including the retail hub of T Nagar, was completely closed, with even jewellers choosing to keep their shuteers down.
DMK cadres under the leadership of Stalin organised a protest on the Marina beach in the morning. This caused traffic congestion for a couple of hours on Beach Road and Anna Salai, affecting normalcy.
The party workers were detained by the police in a marriage hall, and were later released in the evening. Speaking to media persons from the hall, Stalin said the protest, that saw the participation of over 10 lakh people, was a success. He added that an all-party meet will be on Friday at the DMK headquarters to decide on further protests.
While a few Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses plied, inter-State buses to Karnataka were blocked at the Koyambedu bus terminus. Normalcy in other parts of Tamil Nadu too were affected as trains were delayed and some government offices had to be shut down.
Many private-sector employees opted to work from home anticipating road block and lack of public transport. K Vanchinathan, who runs a consultancy firm employing close to 50 people, said many of this staff opted to stay home and work.
The Tamil Nadu government has filed contempt proceedings against the Centre for “failure” to frame the scheme for constituting the CMB and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), as directed by the apex court.
In its February order on the Cauvery dispute, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to set up CMB and CWRC within six weeks, the deadline for which ended on March 29.
The court has agreed to hear the Tamil Nadu governmnet’s contempt plea and posted it for April 9.
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