Free lunch scheme for government school students was disrupted at several centres in the district on Tuesday as over 1,000 noon meal workers were arrested while staging a protest demanding service regularisation, filling of vacant posts, and fixing of salary based on pay commission recommendations.
While representatives of Tamil Nadu Noon Meal Employees' Association said 1,338 of their members were arrested, the official figure of absentees was projected as 1,068 out of 2,697 employees at 1,291 noon meal centres.
According to the association, the protest that was conducted, paralysed functioning of 838 centres.
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To lower the impact of the protest, the district administration had roped in services of panchayat union employees, and retired noon meal organisers, official sources said.
The major demand of the employees is allotment of Rs. 5 as subsidy per meal, to meet the expenses of vegetables.
The Government has earmarked only Rs. 1.39 per beneficiary in elementary schools and Rs. 1.79 in high schools.
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The allotment was meagre and noon meal organisers were struggling to purchase vegetables, K. Jeyalakshmi, State Vice-President of the Association said.
They workers also demanded promotional avenues.
On Monday, more noon meal workers are expected to join the day-long hunger fast protest at Veerappanchathiram, the organisers said.