Vehicles on and near the Kathipara flyover at Guindy in Chennai were forced to a screeching halt on Thursday morning, as a group over 100 protesters staged a demonstration. The agitation in support of farmers protesting in Delhi, was led by film director V Gowthaman.
The protesters who blocked the flyover with an iron chain, created major traffic snarls during peak hour. Vehicles proceeding to Vadapalani and Anna Salai were stuck, resulting in an almost 3km-long traffic block in the area according to reports.
They had gathered, reportedly, to express their solidarity with farmers from Tamil Nadu's delta region who have been protesting in the national capital for the last one month.
"Despite holding demonstrations for a month now, farmers in Delhi have seen no result. They have even stood naked to express their desperation," said one of the protesters to Puthiya Thalaimurai. "We are here to ask the state and Centre to fulfil the demands of our farmers. If they don't, they will see protests bigger than what happened at Marina," he added. Several of the protesters even squatted on the road, holding banners and raising slogans.
According to ToI, police arrested Gowthaman and others to end the protests. Traffic came back to normal after 45 minutes.