Chennai, May 8: Thousands of members of the Joint Action Committee of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisations-Government Employees’ Organisations (JACTTO-GEO), including scores of women, were arrested in Chennai city when then attempted to take out a march towards the State Secretariat to press their charter of demands.
More than 6,000 police personnel were deployed on security duty on the roads leading to the Secretariat, as the agitators, tried to breach barricades, jostled with police, staged road roko agitations, before they were arrested.
Police have already arrested more than 100 members, including key office-bearers of JACTTO-GEO as a precautionary measure in several parts of the State, including to pre-empt their march to picket the Secretariat.
They were demanding among other things, scrapping the new pension scheme, reverting back to the old pension scheme and payment of arrears and rectify anomalies in the pay commission recommendations.
The JACTTO-GEO members went ahead with their proposed agitation, defying the appeal made by the Tamil Nadu government to withdraw their stir and cooperate with the government considering the prevailing financial position of the state.
Police had a tough time in controlling the crowd as the agitators swarmed the Wallajah Road at Chepauk in the city in their attempt to march towards the Secretariat.
Traffic on arterial Anna Salai and on the Kamarajar Salai were hit causing hardships to office goers, even as all roads leading to the Secretariat were sealed to preventthe agitators from sneaking in.
All the vehicles entering the city were being subjected to a thorough search to prevent JACTTO-GEO members from reaching the city.
The vehicles were allowed to proceed on the beach road towards Secretariat after thorough checks.
Unfazed by the massive arrests, the JACTTO-GEO announced that it would continue their agitation till their demands were met.
Similarly, hundreds of members were arrested in several parts of the city, including Koyambedu and Tambaram, and elsewhere in the state.
Meanwhile, DMK Working President M K Stalin, who met the arrested members in the city, condemned the police action and urged the state government to release all of them immediately, including those detained under preventive measure and those who indulged in road roko, across the state.
Noting that the genuine demands of the government employees and teachers could be solved only through talks, he wanted Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to invite the JACTTO-GEO members for talks and find an amicable solution to their demands by today evening. UNI
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