MADURAI: Members of Tamilaga Cable TV Operators General Welfare Association (TCOA) staged a protest at the collectorate on Monday, demanding the state government stop reclaiming the set-top boxes that were given to customers in 2017 as it was disrupting their services.
According to sources, the association members said that, after the shift to the digital era, it has been heart-wrenching to see the revenue department and police personnel harassing the cable TV operators by portraying them as debtors on account of the unreclaimed set-top boxes. The members of the protest requested the collector to pressurise the state government and Chief Minister MK Stalin to fulfill their demands, they added.
They also requested to set up a welfare board for the cable TV operators in the state to support the workers under the association. State secretary of the association, S Vellaichamy says, “There are lakhs of employees and operators working under this association. And yet, we do not have a dedicated welfare board. A welfare board will benefit the workers in many ways, which includes the provision of condolence money for bereaved families. The welfare association was created during CM Karunanidhi’s regime, but it has not been functional to date,” he added.