A railing 'divides' TN, Puducherry

A railing put up by Tamil Nadu on a road here has turned out to be an irritant for Puducherry which claims it is affecting the free movement of people.
However, Tamil Nadu says Puducherry's claim is "misplaced".
According to locals in Puducherry, the railing blocks access to villages under Puducherry territory including Parrikalpattu which is less than one kilometre from the Collectorate here.
Situated along the Gundu Salai Road, the railing effectively prevents access to a bridge cum check dam over the River Pennaiyar which is now running full after the rains.
While Gudu Salai Road falls under Tamil Nadu, villages across the river comes under the Union Territory.

Locals claim that "the railing was put up by Tamil Nadu government to prevent tipplers from creating nuisance in front of the Collectorate after consuming cheap alcoholic beverages (in Puducherry villages) by crossing over the bridge."

A senior Puducherry district authority official said, "We do not want the railing to be there."
Demaning free movement of people, he said, "It is affecting free movement of the people. We are liaising with the Cuddalore District (Tamil Nadu) authorities, the railing should go."
On claims that the railing was put up to prevent
tipplers, the Cuddalore official said, "I do not want to comment about it."

As regards representations by the people seeking removal of the barricade, he said, "Representations were influenced by the local (Puducherry territory) alcoholic beverages outlets, they want consumers from Tamil Nadu to visit them, there is no real public interest behind such requests."
When asked about students using the facility, he said, "We have studied the issue, only very few students --some four or five-- use it occasionally. Moreover, this is not the only access for them, we don't understand why they insist that this should be opened up."
Another official declining to be named acknowledged that "the main purpose" of the railing was to prevent tipplers.

"It (Puducherry territory) is just five minutes walk across the bridge from the Collectorate point. They consume liquor and lie on the road, the bridge and everywhere near the Collectorate, ....Don't we have other things to do other than removing drunk men from such places," he said.
He also pointed out that several mishaps and freak accidents had occurred in the past due to the erratic behaviour of tipplers. Before the railing was put up, a check-post functioned at the point.