The Hindu : T.N. general strike total

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 10, 2002

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T.N. general strike total

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

Chennai Oct. 9. The 12-hour general strike called in Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery issue was total as bus and train services were not operated and educational institutions and commercial establishments remained shut. Even roadside shops had downed the shutters.

Barring a couple of incidents of throwing stones on a private bus and a milk lorry at Tiruvannamalai, the strike supported by all political parties in the State to protest Karnataka's refusal to release the Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu was peaceful.

Effigies of the Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, were burnt in various parts of the State including at Ashok Nagar and Moolakothalam in Chennai, Paramakudi, Tiruppur, Thirukazhukundram and Sirkazhi.

Twentyfour persons, who allegedly obstructed the workers of the atomic power plant at Kalpakkam, were arrested, the Additional Director-General of Police, Headquarters, V. Balachandran, said. Revenue officials staged demonstrations at Sirkazhi, Puraiyar and Nagapattinam.

Normal life was out of gear in the State from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., as almost all roads looked deserted.

As the Supreme Court has banned `bandhs', the State Government had described it as `general strike' called by all political parties.

Hence, the State Secretariat and some of the other Government offices were kept open, but barring a few senior officials, most of the 10-lakh employees abstained from work.

However, as the Government had not declared a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, it is likely to be treated as either "casual leave" or "compensatory leave".

Cinema halls too remained closed during the day and some of the banks headquartered in Karnataka did not function, while other banks operated with a skeleton staff.

While no buses moved out of the State-run transport corporation depots since late on Tuesday night, all trains stopped at 6 a.m. at the nearest stations and resumed journey only after 6 p.m.

In a statement, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, conveyed her "heart-felt" thanks to the people for the "victory" of the general strike, which displayed the collective sentiment of Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue. The "totally peaceful strike" proved that Tamil Nadu, which had full faith in democracy and non-violence, would never resort to violence.

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