The Panagudi police have arrested 19 Naam Thamizhar Katchi cadres when they, defied the ban and took cattle to the Western Ghats for grazing on Saturday.
The NTK had announced that the party cadres, led by party’s chief coordinator Seeman, would take the cattle to the Western Ghats for grazing as the shepherds had the right to take the cattle to any unused government land and the Western Ghats for grazing. When this protest was organised in Theni district recently, the police had arrested Mr. Seeman and others. The NTK argues that cattle-rearers have every right to take their cattle to the hilly regions for grazing and the forest department’s ban on grazing in the Western Ghats had denied the cattle of fodder.
As the NTK had planned to organise a similar agitation near Panagudi in the district on Saturday, the police detained 19 NTK cadres along with the cattle.
Since Mr. Seeman was about to proceed to Panagudi from Tirunelveli to participate in the protest, he was stopped at Tirunelveli itself.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Seeman said the Tamil Nadu Government which was claiming to be increasing milk production and dairy products was preventing the shepherds from taking their cattle to the forest areas for grazing.
“Even as the government is allowing blasting of lakhs of tonnes of rocks as part of quarrying in the Western Ghats for creating seaport at Vizhinjam in Kerala and mining several crores of river sand, the official machinery is forcibly stopping the shepherds of Tamil Nadu from taking their cattle to these forests for grazing,” Mr. Seeman said.
He termed the metro rail transport as a “failed” project as the already cramped cities had been further strangled due to construction of pillars for this project.
Published – November 22, 2025 07:35 pm IST
