Two students attempt suicide over Salem railway division controversy

Two students on Tuesday attempted to commit suicide over bifurcation of a railway zone, which has blown into an inter-state row.

Coimbatore/New Delhi, Sept 11 : Two students on Tuesday attempted to commit suicide over bifurcation of a railway zone, which has blown into an inter-state row.

The bifurcation of Palakkad Railway Division to create Salem Railway Division has been a bone of contention between the southern neighbours of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

While Kerala has been opposing the division of infrastructure between the two zones, Tamil Nadu politicians have threatened to launch an agitation for its implementation as originally planned.

On Tuesday, two law students in Coimbatore climbed atop a high-rise building and threatened to commit suicide if their demands to include Coimbatore and Tirupur stations in the proposed new Salem Railway Division is not accepted.

Police, however, managed to bring them down and arrested them. "For the past two days government college students have been on a hunger strike demanding rail link between Tirupur and Coimbatore. My friend and I were arrested when we tried to commit suicide, to bring government's attention to our needs," said Satyamurthy, one of the agitating students.

Nearly 150 students of a local college has been on indefinite hunger strike over the issue and blocked roads in the city on Tuesday to press for their demands.

Meanwhile, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in New Delhi has suggested some re-organisation of the proposed new railway zone to pacify the warring states.

"Now I think that the controversy is over," he added.The re-organisation came after Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday.

The Railways had announced opening of the Salem Railway Division on Friday. Several political parties in Tamil Nadu have called for a rally on Thursday to protest a change in the plan for bifurcation of the division.

ANI