About 450 workers of the CPI and the CPM were arrested today for attempting to stage a rail roko in the city and nearby Tirupur, seeking Central and State intervention to prevent construction of a dam across the Bhavani.

CPI secretary M Mutharasan said Left parties were ready for further meetings with the Chief Minister of Kerala, which proposes to build the dam, to convince the government there against going ahead with the dam plan and maintain cordial relationship between the States.

The agitators, led by Mutharasan, managed to block a Kerala-bound train at Coimbatore North railway station and raised slogans seeking Central and State government intervention, The dam, they said would block flow of water to the three of Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode. This would affect irrigation in more than 3,00,000 hectares.

The protestors also wanted the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board and pay adequate compensation to farmers affected by drought in the State.

As many as 240 workers were arrested here and the rest in Tirupur.

Mutharasan later told the media that the Left parties had earlier met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the issue and if needed were willing to meet him again to take up the matter.

He also pointed out that despite representations to the Central Government nothing was done to stop construction work across the Bhavani and also environment clearance was given to Karnataka to construct a check dam at Mekedatu.

The State Government also failed to take timely action, he said, adding that the State’s water interests were always neglected, be it Mullaperiyar in Kerala or Palar in Andhra Pradesh.

Mutharasan also wanted the State Government to pay solatium to the nearest of 300 farmers who either committed suicide or died as a result of stress after crop failure. So far only relatives of seven farmers have been given Rs 3 lakh each.

Besides, agricultural labourers deprived of works under Rural Employement Guarantee Scheme, should be paid Rs 25,000 as compensation, he demanded.

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 activists from various political parties, NGOs and farmers’ associations were arrested at K G Chavadi, when they staged a demonstration blocking the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border over the dam issue, according to police.

Police arrested activists of DMK, Congress, TMC and Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhakam, besides others, who raised slogans against the Kerala government for ‘illegally’ constructing the dam across the Bhavani.