A nine-day 300-km padayatra organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Mayiladuthurai district commenced with enthusiasm at Thillayadi in Tarangambadi taluk on Sunday with the cadre raising the slogan: “Let us eradicate communal hatred; strengthen people’s unity and protect State rights.”
The district unit of the CPI(M) began the march after party leaders paid tributes by garlanding the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Thillayadi Valliammal at the Valliammal memorial. A. Ravichandran, union secretary of the party, presided over a public meeting near the mandapam at Thillayadi to explain the objectives of the campaign.
State secretariat member K. Samuelraj, district secretary P. Srinivasan and State committee member A.V. Singaravelan addressed the gathering. District secretariat members, district and union committee members, branch secretaries, party members and supporters participated.
Amidst firecrackers and slogan-raising by cadres, Mr. Samuelraj flagged off the padayatra by unfurling the red flag. On the first day, the march passed through Thillayadi riverbank, Thiruvidaikazhi, Kongarayan Mandapam, Eravancheri, Thiruvilaiyattam, Arumbakkam, Panangudi, and Nalladai before reaching Iluppur, where it concluded with a street-corner public meeting.
