CPI(M) leader and former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, MLA, has urged the government to modernise coir sector and restore the income guarantee scheme for coir workers introduced by the former Left Democratic Front (LDF) regime.
Accusing the government of turning a blind eye to the agitation by coir workers, Dr. Isaac said the coir sector was going through the worst crisis in its history. Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said the industry, which once employed 4,00,000 workers, was left with just 50,000 now. This, he said, was primarily owing to the failure to compete with the cheaper coir manufactured in Tamil Nadu.
