610 noon meal scheme workers detained in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE/NAMAKKAL: The Coimbatore city police detained 610 noon meal scheme workers on Tuesday for holding a road blockade in front of the district collectorate. Members from the Tamil Nadu Noon Meal Employees' Association (TNNMEA) held the protest, demanding that the state govt provide them a monthly pension of Rs 9,000 and fill vacancies immediately.

The protest was led by N Banulatha, district president of the association. The protesters stated that most of the workers were unable to get the benefits from the schemes available to the regular govt employees. “The state govt gives only Rs 2,000 as monthly pension to the noon meal workers and anganwadi workers. This is a meagre amount, and the govt should increase the amount to Rs 9,000,” said Banulatha.

The noon meal workers demanded time scale pay, direct supply of gas cylinders to the govt school kitchens, transfer of the breakfast scheme to the noon meal workers from private contractors, time scale pay and promotions for cooking assistants with five years of experience as cooks. Some of the protesters said that the DMK gave an election promise in 2021 that the job of the noon-meal workers would be made permanent after DMK came to power. But the party govt failed to fulfil its poll promises, they alleged.

The detained protesters were let off later.

Meanwhile, the Namakkal town police on Tuesday detained around 300 noon meal scheme workers when they blocked the Main Road. The workers in the district closed the noon meal scheme centres on Tuesday. "The centres won’t be opened from today till Jan 23. But we will continue our protest even after that," said TNNMEA district president Malarkodi, who led the protest.

When they held a road blockade, police removed them from the Main Road and detained them in a private wedding hall. Later, they were freed.