TIRUNELVELI
The Communist Party of India cadres staged a demonstration here on Tuesday in protest against the “poor supply” of COVID-19 vaccines by the Union Government.
Led by CPI’s Tirunelveli district secretary Kasi Viswanathan, they staged a demonstration near their party office in Sindhupoondurai in Tirunelveli Junction and raised slogans against the Centre.
They said the Union Government’s “erratic vaccination policy” and poor vaccination action plan had badly hit the ongoing vaccination drive in Tamil Nadu as sufficient number of vaccine doses were not allotted by the Centre.
Besides giving sufficient number of vaccines to Tamil Nadu, the Centre should allow the State Government to produce vaccines from the closed integrated vaccine complex in Chengalpattu, they said.
They said the beedi rolling industry, which was feeding a few lakh workers in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, should be allowed to resume operation as these families were starving.
They organised similar agitations in Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts also.
Ramanathapuram
The Centre should immediately bring down the fuel price by cutting down the excise duty and also ensure that vaccine was available across the State.
Staging a demonstration in as many as 11 different locations here in the district on Tuesday, the members demanded the Centre to take steps to open the new facility near Chengalpattu as it could produce vaccines. The plant, which was built at a cost of over ₹ 500 crore, remained a non-starter. This is highly condemnable, the CPI district secretary S Muruga Boopathi said.
Demonstrations were held in Paramakudi, Kamudi and Rameswaram.
Dindigul
The members staged demonstrations in as many as 50 locations by adhering to physical distancing urging the Centre to take steps to either import or step up domestic manufacturing and supply the vaccines on a war-footing.
The district secretary A.P. Manikandan led the agitation in Dindigul CPI office, while other leaders and cadres staged demonstrations in Gujiliamparai, Palani Pappampatti, Vadamadurai, Natham, Oddanchatram and Kodaikanal respectively.