Pottalurani villagers in Thoothukudi boycott election demanding closure of fish processing units

Violence erupted in Pottalurani in Ottapidaram Assembly segment falling under Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency as armed men entered the village when the villagers were staging a protest boycotting polling

Violence erupted in Pottalurani in Ottapidaram Assembly segment falling under Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency as armed men entered the village when the villagers were staging a protest boycotting polling.

More than 900 voters in the village boycotted the polling as their demand to close fish processing units located near their village remains unfulfilled for several years. Only 23 votes — seven of the voters and 16 Election Duty Certificates (EDCs) — were registered, sources said.

As the villagers had announced the poll boycott, they resorted to a sit-in protest on Friday. As they were demanding talks with the District Election Officer or the General Observer over their demands, Tamil Nadu Minister for Fisheries Anitha R. Radhakrishnan who went there to hold talks with them was not allowed into the village.

Following that, a group of people with masks carrying weapons like bottles, wooden logs and knives entered the village in an SUV to attack the protesters.

“The villagers chased them away. The police who were deployed at the village to prevent any untoward incident were just watching the happenings,” said E. Sankaranarayanan, a villager.

“When we questioned the police about not acting against the goons, they said that they were deployed only for election duty and that the people should protect themselves,” he added.