Hundreds gherao Kovai Corpn

The DMK party cadre, led by Singanallur constituency MLA N Karthik and former minister Pongalur N Palanisamy, gheraoed the Corporation office here and shouted slogans against Minister Velumani for not taking any measures to overcome the water shortage.

Tension prevailed for a while when the protesting party workers attempted to barge into the Corporation office. The police, however, blocked their entry by placing barricades. The protesters then staged a demonstration blaming the State government for the prevailing crisis.

A large number of women participated in the protest by carrying empty pots and holding placards that highlighted their demands. The protesters claimed that water supply is erratic and that it was supplied only once in a month in several areas. They contended that the government should have taken precautionary measures.

MLA N Karthik and Pongalur N Palanisamy also sought to scrap the round-the-clock water project awarded to French firm Suez Ltd since digging work has been delaying water supply in some residential areas.

The protest led to traffic disruption on the busy stretch here for more than an hour. All the protesting party workers were then secured and taken to a marriage hall, but were later let off, sources said.