THOOTHUKUDI: Periyathalai fishermen, who have been striking work for the past 15 days seeking action against a few officials of the fishermen's society, held a protest at the collectorate during the weekly grievances redressal meeting on Monday. District Revenue Officer Ajay Seenivasan chaired the meeting and received over 380 petitions from the public.
Fishermen from Periyathalai claimed that a clerk in the fishermen's welfare society is not distributing subsidised kerosene in a proper manner. The supply has been erratic as officials sell it in the black market, they charged.
Meanwhile, Indhiya Jananayaga Madhar Sangam district secretary Poomayil said the marginalised sections of the society have been affected by the soaring prices of vegetables. "Tomatoes have touched `120 per kg, shallot `200, ginger `300, and other crops like chilly, beans and brinjal are sold at `100 per kg. The state and centre have failed to control the spiking prices," she said, adding that essential vegetables should be supplied at PDS shops.
ALSO READ | Periyathalai fishers boycott fishing condemning misappropriation of kerosene
G Shanmugavel (54), who works as a sanitary worker at a Natarajan Higher Secondary School, sought the intervention of the collector to get his wages pending for the past 24 months. " I am paid only `1,065 per month, which has been put on hold for the past two years," he said.