As many as 120 members of the VOC Sevadalam staged a hunger protest near the Power House in Tatbad on Saturday demanding the state government to set up a statue in commemoration of freedom fighter VO Chidambaram Pillai.
Around 100 men and 20 women of the VOC Sevadalam took part in the hunger protest from 10am to 4pm.
Speaking to TOI, the general secretary of the association, T Vijayakumar said "VO Chidamabram Pillai's contribution for the freedom struggle is immeasurable, and the leader spent almost two and a half years in the Coimbatore Central Prison. To honour his contributions, we want the state government to set up a statue in Coimbatore,"
He added that the statue can be set up anywhere in the city. Besides setting up a statue, the association also demanded that the Avinashi Road, one of the city's arterial roads be named after VO Chidambaram Pillai, who is also known as Kappalottiya Tamilan.
VOC was behind the first indigenous shipping service between Tuticorin and Colombo. A member of the Indian National Congress, VOC was charged with sedition, and was stripped of his barrister license. "There are so many leaders after whom roads, streets are named. There are roads named after bureaucrats. We urge the state government that the Avinashi Road be named after VOC," Vijayakumar.
The members of the association alleged that they have fighting for these demands for the last four years.
"The state government has not responded to any of our requests. We have submitted petitions, staged protests, but they have not paid any heeds to our requests. We will not give up on our struggle and demand the government to fulfill these demands," Vijayakumar said.
He added that the association would intensify the protest if the state government fails to respond to their hunger protest. "We will hold a state-wide protest if the government continues to ignore our demands. The protest will be flagged off at Nugambakkam in Chennai in a few days," he said.
Around 100 men and 20 women of the VOC Sevadalam took part in the hunger protest from 10am to 4pm.
Speaking to TOI, the general secretary of the association, T Vijayakumar said "VO Chidamabram Pillai's contribution for the freedom struggle is immeasurable, and the leader spent almost two and a half years in the Coimbatore Central Prison. To honour his contributions, we want the state government to set up a statue in Coimbatore,"
He added that the statue can be set up anywhere in the city. Besides setting up a statue, the association also demanded that the Avinashi Road, one of the city's arterial roads be named after VO Chidambaram Pillai, who is also known as Kappalottiya Tamilan.
VOC was behind the first indigenous shipping service between Tuticorin and Colombo. A member of the Indian National Congress, VOC was charged with sedition, and was stripped of his barrister license. "There are so many leaders after whom roads, streets are named. There are roads named after bureaucrats. We urge the state government that the Avinashi Road be named after VOC," Vijayakumar.
The members of the association alleged that they have fighting for these demands for the last four years.
"The state government has not responded to any of our requests. We have submitted petitions, staged protests, but they have not paid any heeds to our requests. We will not give up on our struggle and demand the government to fulfill these demands," Vijayakumar said.
He added that the association would intensify the protest if the state government fails to respond to their hunger protest. "We will hold a state-wide protest if the government continues to ignore our demands. The protest will be flagged off at Nugambakkam in Chennai in a few days," he said.