Almost all the 30,000 industrial units in the district downed their shutters here on Friday and staged a massive demonstration with the participation of 7,000 people (as per police estimates) to condemn the unscheduled and long hours of power cuts that have been haunting the district for sometime now.
Over 40 industrial associations had come together for the massive protest in front of Hotel Tamil Nadu at Gandhipuram here, which had resulted in a production loss of over Rs 250 crore.
The state itself might have suffered a tax setback of Rs 25 crore due to the protest, claimed industry leaders.
The demonstration turned tense when a section of the protesters went to the Gandhipuram signal and blocked the road and disrupted traffic.
Rushing towards the agitators, the police wielded lathis to disperse them. This made the people run helter-skelter. Some suffered blows, while others fell on the road.
“We have given one week’s time to the state to find a solution. Or, we will decide our next course of action to get uninterrupted power for our livelihood. The state should at least give power holiday as a temporary measure to tackle the crisis,” said CODISSIA president M. Kandhaswami.