Neyveli: Thousands of Tamil film personalities, right from technicians to stars,
took out a huge rally in this lignite town on October 12 evening, demanding
immediate release of Cauvery water by Karnataka government and stoppage of power to
that state from the Thermal power station.
Sporting black shirts, carrying black flags, and placards, the processionists
shouted slogans condemning Karnataka for not obeying Supreme Court orders and also
against Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna and veteran
Kannada actor Rajkumar. Perhaps this is the first time in recent times that film
stars are fighting for a public cause.
Large crowds cheered the processionists from behind the barricades, rooftops of
buildings and even tree tops. Several banners were also put up all along the
procession route. Some of the participants in the procession carried empty pots on
their heads, to stress the point on the need to release Cauvery water by Karnataka
government.
Renowned Tamil film directors, K Balachander and Udayakumar and lyricist,
Vairamuthu, formed the vanguard of the procession, which started more than three
hours behind schedule and they were walking all along the procession route.
Film stars, numbering several hundreds, travelled in five open tractor-trailors and
they were lustily cheered by their fans all along the three-km route. Others
followed them.
Earlier in the morning, nearly 5,000 film personalities left by over 150 luxury
private buses to Neyveli, about 150 kms from Chennai, to participate in the rally.
PTI
