The UT government has decided to resume the Rajiv Gandhi Breakfast Scheme, which was suspended for a while, from March 10.
The scheme, ever since its implementation in 2002, has been benefiting 1.7 lakh students from the four regions of the UT, but was stopped due to scarcity of milk.
Education Minister T Thiagarajan said the authorities of TN had been requested to supply more milk to resume the scheme.
As the first step to resume the scheme, the government has decided to disburse the salary arrears to the breakfast scheme workers. The decision to disburse the arrears was taken after discussions between the Education Minister T Thiagarajan and the Secretary (Education) and the Director of School Education. The decision was taken in the wake of the day and night agitation by the workers of the Bread and Milk workers Union.
Thiagarajan said the arrears for two months would be disbursed within next two days and the three months’ salary arrears before March 15. The salary for the workers had been pending for the last nine months. He said the administration was also considering the demand to make the workers part-time employees with the Education Department.
The Bread and Milk workers Union staged a ‘wailing’ agitation near the Assembly Gate on Tuesday demanding disbursement of salary arrears and making them part time employees with the Education Department.
The workers, gathered at the Bharathi Park to meet the CM on Monday. As the CM was away in Karaikal, they stayed put in the park till midnight. However, police forced them to leave. Some of the workers then gathered near the Nehru statue and spent the night there and resumed their protest on Tuesday morning.