Members of the Tamil Nadu Drama and Folk Artistes Association have urged the district administration to permit them perform at public functions and marriages, to restore their livelihood affected due to COVID-19.
In a petition submitted to the District Collector here on Monday, the members said that following the pandemic, they were not permitted to participate in public, government functions, marriages and temple festivals for over two years. Ten artistes had ended their lives as they had no means to live, they claimed.
Though they were registered with the association, they did not receive any assistance. “Only if our livelihood is restored, we can continue our profession,” they said. Their other demands were assistance for artistes above 60 years, district-level awards to artistes and recruitment of artistes in temples on a permanent basis.
Likewise, members of the Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Coordinate Welfare Federation submitted a petition to the district administration seeking inclusion of river sand and M-sand in the essential services list.
They wanted a committee formed to inspect the cement manufacturing industries to prevent manufacture of sub-standard M-sand. They also wanted the government to ensure that their 55,000 lorries get a minimum of three loads each in a week.
