Vandalisation of TN name boards on Karna border: Panel formed to survey location of such markings

Days after a fringe group fromKarnataka damaged sign and name boards of Tamil Nadu, acommittee has been formed by the district administration hereto conduct a survey of such markings in areas bordering theneighbouring state and relocate them, if needed, to avertrecurrence of such incidents.

District Collector C Kathiravan on Wednesday said thepanel members would visit all border points with Karnataka inThalavadi and Burgur areas in this western district and wouldtake steps to relocate any sign or name board found placedwithin the territorial limits of the neighbouring state.

The committee, comprising officials of the Revenue andHighways department, would take steps to remove such boardsand re-install them within Tamil Nadu's limits, some metersaway from the exact state border, he told reporters here.

It was set up on Tuesday to prevent such incidents, hesaid, referring to miscreants damaging the signboards of theHighways Department and the Erode District Panchayat councilin Tamil and English in Binapuram area in Thalavadi taluk onSunday.

The vandalisation came close on the heels of a similarincident on Januaruy 10 when a group led by Kannada ChaluvaliVatal Paksha leader Vattal Nagaraj entered Ramapura locality,also in Thalavadi taluk, and allegedly dismantled and threwaway name boards of district panchayat and highwaysdepartment.

Such boards are kept in border areas to indicate thestart of Tamil Nadu limits and the division or sub-division ofthe state highways the locality falls and also to either'welcome' or 'thank' visiting people.

The back-to-back incidents, which came in the backdrop ofa row between Maharashtra and Karnataka over some border areaswhere Marathi speaking people live, had sparked off outrageamong people in Tamil Nadu with the Viduthalai ChiruthaigalKatchi giving a call for a protest.

The situation in the areas was now calm but policepersonnel continued to be posted there, police said onWednesday.

The group from Karnataka that vandalised name boards onSunday claimed that Thalavadi belonged to their state, echoingthe stand of Nagaraj.