Agitated over the installation of electric poles inside Paraakkirama Pandian Kulam near here by a private firm to transmit power generated by its nearby solar power plant, a group of villagers staged sit-in inside the irrigation tank on Monday.
They withdrew the protest after they were assured that all electric poles would be removed.
A private firm, with its solar power unit near Thalaiyaalnadanthaankulam under Kayathar union in Thoothukudi district, started installing 200 electric poles to transmit power from the plant to the sub-station at Kollankinaru. Seven of the 74 poles to be installed inside the tank, having ayacut of over 2,400 acres in 11 villages under Chittar Basin, were erected.
In protest, residents of Keezhakottai, a village nourished by the water body, started the sit-in. They said installation of electric poles inside the water body without permission would kill farming operations in the region, as the private firm would not allow water to stagnate inside the tank in a bid to save the electric poles.
Even as the protest was going on since 10 a.m., tahsildar of Kayathar taluk Bhaskaran held talks with the villagers.
He assured the protesters that the private firm would be asked remove all electric poles before June 18. “Moreover, the firm will not install any new electric poles inside the water body,” he said.
Following the assurance, the villagers withdrew their agitation around 2 p.m.
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