Stones were thrown at vehicles during the protest at Mukkam, Kozhikode, on Wednesday. Kozhikode: The prolonged protest being staged by the people here against the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline of Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) turned violent at Mukkam here on Wednesday with the agitators clashing with the police.
When GAIL officials reached the venue to continue the land acquisition process for the project, a group of people belonging to Mukkam and nearby areas threw stones on vehicles and blocked government-run Kerala road transport corporation buses plying on the Kozhikode-Malappuram route.
A police vehicle was damaged and a policeman received minor injuries due to stone pelting which prompted the lathicharge and bursting of teargas shells.
The police 'vandalized' a makeshift venue of the protesters and used tear gas against the people.
Ten people have been taken into custody for violence. The protesters, who dispersed from Mukkam following the baton charge, again assembled at Valaiyaparambu. The police arrived there too. A section of the protesters also blocked the road at Kallayi.
One policeman reportedly suffered injuries during the clash.
Hartal in 3 panchayats
The UDF has called for a hartal in Keezhuparamab, Karathoor, and Kodiyathur panchayats on Thursday in protest against the police action.
The people, under the banner of a protest council, have been agitating against land acquisition for the project. They have also sought a resurvey. Around 80 km of pipes will be laid around Kozhikode district as part of the GAIL Kochi-Koottanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline project.
The project needs 160 hectares in the district. The protesters are also apprehensive of incidents like the fire in GAIL pipeline in Andhra Pradesh in 2014 that claimed 22 lives.
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