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Loadmen protest 'starvation death'

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI JUNE 19. The death of a poverty-stricken loadman, who had been rendered jobless for the past two and half months, sparked an agitation by a group of casual labourers of the Steel Authority of India warehouse at K.K.Nagar here today.

Terming it a ``starvation death,'' the retrenched workers and their family members resorted to a dharna in front of the warehouse for over five hours with the body. The labourers blaming the management for the death said many of them would face a similar fate unless they were reinstated.

S. Radhakrishnan (38) of Anna Nagar near Airport was one among 26 retrenched loadmen who were working at the SAIL's warehouse, managed by a private contractor. He was said to have been in a heightened state of anxiety ever since he went jobless. Radhakrishnan slipped and fell in his house on June 14 reportedly due to exhaustion. He was admitted to the K.A.P.Viswanatham Government Medical College Hospital here and shifted to a private hospital where he died today. He is survived by his wife and two teenaged daughters.

Agitated over his death, his co-workers took his body to the warehouse premises and staged a dharna. They refused to remove the body until they were assured of reinstatement and compensation to Radhakrishnan's family. The labourers said they were retrenched in April by a new Bangalore-based contractor even as negotiations were underway over their demand for a wage hike. They were not paid wages during the negotiation period of three months, they alleged. SAIL officials disclaimed any responsibility and maintained that any decision on the demands could be taken only by the contractor who was said to be away in Chennai. Senior revenue and police officials held talks with the labourers. The labourers agreed to disperse by dusk after being assured by revenue officials that talks would be arranged with the contractor who is expected to arrive here on Friday. The body was later cremated.

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