<P> Despite numerous obstacles, the group reached Vedaranyam on 28 April 1930, 15 days after setting out . When Gandhi was informed he wrote back: "It is good that our hands and feet are tied so that we can sing with joy . God is the help of the helpless ." The police, despite their previous failures, tightened the security at Vedaranyam to prevent the marchers from collecting salt . As soon as the group reached Vedaranyam, Rajagopalachari called for more participants and publicly declared that the salt laws would be broken on 30 April . Pillai offered accommodation to the group by constructing a camp on the shore . On the same day, when Rajaji and 16 others moved to the Edanthevar salt swamp, which was about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the camp . A police force led by the District Superintendent arrived at the spot and asked the group to surrender . When they refused, Rajagopalachari was arrested under section 74 of the Salt Act, and was produced before the district magistrate Ponnusamy Pillai . He was sentenced to six - months of imprisonment and was sent to the Trichinopoly Central Prison . </P> <P> The following day, shops all over the province remained closed . Despite repeated arrests and the use of brutal force by the police, people continued to make salt at Vedaranyam . The collector, Thorne, who at first had been confident of his ability to prevent the march, was forced to report to his superiors: "If there ever existed a fervid sense of devotion to the (British) Government, it is now the defunct". Despite repeated arrests, people continued to make salt and Thorne ordered the police to lathi charge the crowd . Eventually he ordered a "wholesale" arrest, which led to 375 people in the district being arrested for protesting against the British . Rukmini Lakshmipathi, who was imprisoned for one year, became the first woman to serve a jail term for participating in the Salt Satyagraha movement . Kamaraj was arrested for exhorting 300 people to volunteer the march and inciting them to prepare salt . Since he did not refute the charges, he was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment . At first, he was sent to the Trichinopoly before being transferred to the Bellary Central Jail . </P> <P> As a result of the Gandhi Irwin Pact--signed on 4 March 1931--the Congress suspended the Civil Disobedience Movement and the British, in turn, released all the prisoners . Kamaraj was released on eight days later . </P> <P> The march played a significant role in the political career of Pillai . In 1931, he was conferred with the title of "Sardar" at the Tamil Nadu Agriculturists and Labourers Conference held at Tirunelveli for his active role in the march . </P>

Who broke the salt law in tanjore coast