Urging the State government to scrap the e-pass system in vogue in Tamil Nadu for inter-district or inter-State travel in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, cab drivers submitted a petition to Additional Collector (Revenue) Vishnu Chandran here on Monday, saying it had decimated the industry.
In their petition, the cab drivers led by K. Ravikumar, Thoothukudi district president of All India Cab Drivers’ Welfare Association, said the e-pass system, which was introduced after the pandemic outbreak to curb unnecessary movement of the public, had sounded the death knell for cab drivers. While they had to repay loans availed for buying vehicles and other purposes, they were forced to keep their vehicles idle as the public could not hire them even for genuine purposes as their plea for e-pass was getting rejected. Hence, the State government should scrap the e-pass system and give monthly assistance of ₹5,000 until the lockdown was completely lifted, they said.
Fishermen plea
A group of country boat fishermen, led by president of Thoothukudi District Country Boat and Catamaran Fishermen Welfare Association S.J. Gayes, submitted a petition against the National Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management Bill 2019.
The petitioner said the proposed Bill, being pushed by the Union Government even as the entire nation was reeling under the pandemic-induced lockdown, would strip the fishing rights of the country boat fishermen while enabling the bigger players to poach the entire ocean in uncontrollable fashion. Hence, the Bill should be withdrawn.
A 77-year-old old Velammal of Pasuvanthanai village submitted a petition against a private finance firm that cheated her to the tune of ₹8.30 lakh.
The elderly woman said she invested the huge sum of money in the company in 2013 after it promised attractive returns.
“Since the company is refusing to return the investment with interest for the past seven years, I am starving. Hence, the Collector should initiate action against the finance company to return my investment with interest promised by it,” Ms. Velammal said.
Siddha hospital
The joint coordinator of Aam Aadmi Party V. Gunaseelan submitted a petition urging the district administration to establish a full-fledged siddha hospital for treating positive patients as the viral infection was on the rise in Thoothukudi district.
