Justice V. Lakshminarayanan allows Sitharkadu protest against TNCSC rice mill
The Madras High Court has said people have a right to protest, even if authorities worry about possible trouble.
On October 15, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan gave Sitharkadu villagers the green light to hold a sit-in against alleged air pollution caused by a Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) rice mill.
The protest is set for November 29, but with some ground rules.
Ground rules set for Sitharkadu protest
Organizers need to keep things peaceful, share a participant list with officials, and make sure no one likely to cause problems joins in.
They also cannot disrupt any funerals at the nearby cremation ground.
Villagers have faced pollution issues from this rice mill for ages; police had blocked their protest before, but now they get to speak up, showing that public order and the right to be heard can hand in hand.