Title - Plea for extension of train service

Members of political parties, traders and lawyers stage rail roko : Over 200 members of various political parties, traders and lawyers were arrested when they staged a rail roko here and at Manamadurai on Tuesday demanding the extension of Pallavan Express and Chennai-Karaikudi Weekly Express up to Manamadurai junction.Led by CPI legislator S. Gunasekaran, who represents Sivaganga Assembly constituency, agitators from CPI (M), DMDK, MDMK and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi entered the Sivaganga Railway station and squatted on the track blocking the Tiruchi-Rameswaram train.While Mr. Gunasekaran and Municipal Chairman M.Arjunan blocked the train in Sivaganga with about 150 agitators, another section led by former MLA Thangamani staged the stir at the Manamadurai Railway gate.The agitators, who planned to block the Tiruchi-Rameswaram train blocked the Manamadurai-Tiruchi train which arrived late.The police swung into action and removed the agitators,allowing the trains to pass through after a delay of five to 10 minutes.Earlier, tension prevailed at the railway station when police prevented the agitators from entering the station. After heated exchanges with the police, Mr. Gunasekaran and other agitators bought platform tickets and gained entry into the station. Expressing solidarity, the traders downed shutters in the town. Almost all shops, except a few owned by Congressmen remained closed. The agitation was to press for laying a new railway line from Madurai to Thondi via Sivaganga and Kalayarkoil.District Superintendent of Police C.Sakthivel said the agitation passed off without any untoward incident. He said 148 people were arrested in Sivangaga and 54 in Manamadurai. More than 70 per cent of the shops remained closed, he added.All the agitators, detained in a marriage hall, were released in the evening, the police said.Mr. Gunasekaran told “The Hindu” that the agitators blocked the train at three points. Sivaganga, despite being the district headquarters, is being given a raw deal, he alleged.He said petitions on behalf of all political parties, traders, lawyers and students were submitted to the Railway Minister, Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram and the Southern Railway General Manager demanding the extension of the two trains up to Manamadurai. There was no reply from any quarter.They would chalk out the next course of agitation if they did not receive a favourable reply within a week, he warned.