Seeking cancellation of license given for a prawn farm close their hamlet, a group of villagers from Kalaignanapuram in Vilaaththikulam taluk submitted petition to Collector Sandeep Nanduri on Monday.
The petitioners, led by village head C. Dharmalingam, said the villagers of Kalaignanapuram and Thulukkankulam, were working in the salt pans during summer and would raise rain-fed crops during monsoon.
Since a private prawn farm, situated on the eastern side of Kalaignanapuram and on the southern side of Thulukkankulam, had created ponds on 60 acres for hatching prawn, the groundwater salinity had increased to become unusable.
Hence, the Collector should cancel the licence given for the prawn farm, the petitioners said.
‘White report’ sought
A group of MDMK office-bearers submitted a petition seeking a ‘white report’ on the ingredients of milk being sold to the public. They said a report tabled by Union Government’s Health Ministry in the Parliament had admitted that the milk being sold in Tamil Nadu had higher toxicity.
Hence, the Collector, in a bid to allay the public’s fear, should order the officials to take samples of milk from various suppliers and send the samples for comprehensive analysis.
“The results of the analysis should be made public which will allay the fear among the public,” the petitioners said.
Water release
In his petition, Aam Aadmi Party’s Thoothukudi district joint coordinator V. Gunaseelan charged that the Public Works Department officials, who were releasing water in violation of the norms from the Subbarayapuram check-dam, built across Karumaeniyar, were causing clash between the farmers of Udangudi and Puththantharuvai. Besides taking action against the PWD officials causing conflict, the Collector should visit the spot and ensure the release of water from the check-dam as per norms, he said.
Bus service
Villagers of Bodammalpuram near Koottaampuli submitted a petition seeking sufficient bus service via their hamlet to Thisaiyanvilai in Tirunelveli district. The bus operated by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation from Thoothukudi to Thisaiyanvilai via Pudukottai, Koottaampuli, Naduvaikurichi, Sawyerpuram, Pandaaravilai, Eral, Kurumbur, Vanathiruppathi, Nazareth, Sattankulam and Ittamozhi during weekdays would be cancelled in the weekends to cause hardship to the public. Consequently, the private bus operators were minting money during weekends and auspicious days.
Hence, the Collector should instruct the TNSTC officials to operate adequate number of buses during weekends also, the petitioners said.
