Women under the banner of Penkoottu, an organisation of women labourers in S.M. Street here, organised a protest on Wednesday against the hike in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). They burned Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily in effigy. The women assembled near the statue of S.K. Pottekkat on S.M. Street carrying pots and pans and clattered them to draw attention towards their problem. Finally they threw the vessels into the burning effigy, shattering them into pieces.
Penkoottu secretary P. Viji said that women were the most affected by the rise in LPG prices.
“For working women, quick and smokeless cooking using LPG is a blessing. With such steep increase in the price of cooking gas, we will not be able to afford the luxury any more as it will derail the family budget.” The women urged the government to quickly intervene in the issue. Sakeena E., Smitha S., Barsa and Shyla Chacko spoke on the occasion.
‘Rollback price hike’The Kozhikode Taluk Coir Industry Workers Union urged the Central government to withdraw the increase in LPG price.
The Kozhikode District Consumer Protection Committee demanded that the Central government reassume the responsibility of fixing petroleum prices. The committee announced a strike on January 13 at Gandhi Griham demanding that the accounts of petroleum companies be audited and made transparent.
