A violent protest broke out between the cops and the protesting villagers at Kathiramangalam village in Thanjavur over broken oil pipes laid out by ONGC.
A violent protest broke out between the cops and the protesting villagers at Kathiramangalam village in Thanjavur over broken oil pipes laid out by ONGC.
Last month, the company decided to service the well to sustain it.
This was not recieved well by the villagers.
Villagers claimed that this had led to water scarcity in the area stating that earlier they had to only dig 10 feet for water, but now they have to go to 70 to 100ft below ground.
Panic gripped the villagers after word of smoke from pipes spread around.
When the collector and village administrative office tried to visit the site, they were not allowed.
Authorities claim that protestors ganged up against them and blamed the ONGC for the leak, saying the land was not suitable for cultivation anymore.
The situation went out of control when a few miscreants began to pelt stones at the cops, and someone lit up haystacks.
Police was forced to resort to lathi charge.