THOOTHUKUDI: Traders associated with the Pudukkottai town submitted a petition to Chief Minister MK Stalin demanding the construction of a new bridge across Uppar Odai in parallel to the old one so as to facilitate safe commutation towards Thoothukudi town. The traders, led by Anaithu Viyaparigal Munnetra Sangam president G Peter, submitted the petition during the chief minister's recent visit to the district, alleging that there has not been any drop in the number of lives lost in accidents at Pudukottai junction on the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli NH, in spite of the construction of a high-level bridge recently.
"A majority of the accidents occur due to lack of proper pathways for those coming from Tirunelveli, who alight from buses at the Thoothukudi block office stop, as they either have to walk across the six lanes of the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli NH or detour more than one kilometre to reach the residential regions of Pudukottai," said Peter, adding that banana farmers and traders could not opt for the road to Thoothukudi due to its faulty design.
The traders also urged the chief minister to take steps to build a bridge parallel to the old one across Uppar odai on the Pudukottai-Thoothukudi link road, which is also part of the Palayamkottai-Thoothukudi road, located on the intersection of the Kovilpatti-Eral State Highways road to ease movement.
Meanwhile, manufacturers of safety matchsticks, associated with the All India Chamber of Match Industries, demanded Stalin to declare cigarette lighters as 'single-use plastic' and ban its use, so as to support the safety match industry. "Although a central government ban exists on the import of plastic lighters with a value less than Rs 20 from China, numerous traders channelise the product via Nepal to avert the ban," they said.
Adding that the production of plastic lighters within the country has heavily affected the trade of safety match industries and the lives of the workers, the manufacturers said, "Plastic lighters should be categorised as single-use plastics and its production-circulation must be banned in a move akin to the Andaman and Nicobar government."