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On the morning of August 15, 2001, as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa hoisted the national flag at Fort St. George, about 3.5 km away, scores of journalists sat on a fast outside the M.A. Chidambaram Cricket Stadium, near the State Guest House in Chennai.About 48 hours earlier, several journalists, particularly photographers and camerapersons, had been subjected to a savage attack by the police just outside the office of the Director General of Police on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai. On the night of August 12, the journalists were covering a DMK rally which was being undertaken to condemn alleged police excesses during the arrest of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on June 29 that year. The rally had turned violent near the DGP’s office and the journalists were filming it when the police attacked them.“The police refuse to acknowledge that journalists were prevented from getting out of the DGP’s office as pitched battles broke out between a well-armed police and unruly elements during Sunday’s DMK rally in the city. But the version of journalists trapped inside the DGP’s office tells a different story. While at least five journalists were held inside the DGP control room for ‘their own safety’, nearly 15 journalists who were covering the pitched battle were attacked by the police,” said a report in The Hindu Archives.“One official even tried to protect one journalist. The journalist, a crime beat reporter, who hid behind the official, was pulled away from the officer before being attacked,” the report quoted a journalist, who witnessed the scene, as saying. Several of the journalists sustained bleeding injuries and the camera equipment of a TV journalist and some photographers were damaged by the police. Late that night when journalists confronted the Chennai Police Commissioner Muthukaruppan, he extended an apology “if such incidents had taken place.” Journalists were arrested near the State guest house in Chennai on August 15, 2001, when they attempted to take out a procession in protest against the arrest of the Sun TV reporter G. Suresh. | Jayalalithaa’s responseJayalalithaa, who said she was distressed that journalists were attacked, claimed it happened because they were caught between unruly persons and the police. She said she had asked the police to evolve procedures to see that such incidents did not recur.However, the journalists were not convinced with her explanation. Just a month earlier, some journalists were allegedly attacked when they were covering the arrest of Karunanidhi. Before that, a Sun TV correspondent, who was among the journalists who covered a visit by former Minister K. Ponmudi to a civil supplies godown, was arrested.Day-long fastProtesting the frequent attacks, the journalists decided to observe a day-long fast near the State Guest House on Independence Day. The fasting journalists demanded a CBI inquiry into the attack on members of their fraternity.“The journalist organisations - the Chennai Press Club, the Madras Union Of Journalists and the Madras Reporters Guild - decided that scribes would wear black badges while covering the coming budget session of the State Assembly. A meeting of the press organisations after the hunger protest, however, decided to drop its earlier call for total boycott of all police functions as it was ‘not feasible’,” The Hindu reported on August 16, 2001.Senior editors of various media publications expressed their solidarity with the fasting journalists.Days later, nine members of the Journalists Action Group, a voluntary group formed after the attack, filed a petition before the Madras High Court praying for a CBI inquiry and a direction to the Government of Tamil Nadu and the DGP to provide compensation to journalists, who were injured, and whose camera equipment were damaged by the police. Former Union Minister and senior advocate P. Chidambaram represented the journalists, pro bono, and argued their case before the court.The
Villagers and farmers’ organisations gathered to discuss measures to save the Guruganga-Viraja rivulet at Maniknagar in Humnabad taluk of Bidar district in Karnataka, on August 9, 2026. | The decision was taken at a meeting held at Maniknagar on August 9. Among those who attended were Humnabad MLA Siddu Patil and MLC Chandrashekar Patil.Basvantrao Vibhuti, president of Veerabhadreshwara temple committee, addressing the meeting, demanded that the district administration identify the source of pollution, stop the discharge of untreated effluents, conduct scientific testing of the rivulet and groundwater, assess the health impact on affected villagers, and establish a permanent mechanism to prevent industrial pollution. Nisar Ahmed, a resident of Gadwanti village and a cancer patient, said the contaminated water had severely affected his life. He expressed concern that continued pollution would put future generations at risk. He raised health concerns, including among pregnant women, and demanded a scientific assessment of the pollution’s impact on public health.“If we fail to prevent this pollution today, future generations will have to suffer badly by consuming this water,” Mr. Ahmed said. He urged the authorities to act before the situation worsens.Siddanna Bhushetty, representing a farmers’ organisation, Premila Tiwari and Manik Nimmane, residents of Maniknagar, alleged that untreated industrial effluents had turned the Guruganga-Viraja dark, foul-smelling and oily, while contaminating groundwater and drinking water sources in Maniknagar, Gadwanti, Molkera, Dhummansur, Hudgi and nearby villages. Guruganga-Viraja movement is non-politicalAnandraj Manik Prabhu, president of Shri Manik Prabhu Samsthan, made it clear that the movement was not political one, and would not be given a political colour.“This is a movement to conserve and protect the Guruganga-Viraja river. We neither want to indulge in politics nor allow this important issue to be politicised,” he said.Mr. Anandraj said the Guruganga-Viraja was not merely a water body but an important part of the region’s ecological, religious and cultural heritage. He stressed that the movement would continue until the pollution issue was permanently resolved.He appealed to RDPR Minister Eshwar Khandre to personally intervene in the long-pending issue and direct the authorities concerned to take decisive action. He urged the Minister to ensure that the source of pollution was identified, the water sources were scientifically tested, and industries violating environmental norms were dealt with strictly.Mr. Anandraj appealed to Mr. Khandre to provide the people of Maniknagar and the surrounding villages with permanent relief by resolving the issue by this Independence Day (August 15).The residents and farmers warned that the protest on August 11 would be followed by a larger agitation if the authorities failed to provide a concrete solution. Published - August 10, 2026 11:25 am IST
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