TN This Week: Firecracker Accident Kills 5 Workers, Northeast Monsoon Batters Several Districts

A massive firecracker unit accident in Madurai charred five workers to death on November 10. The government of Tamil Nadu has announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh each to the families.

Most districts in the delta region and around Chennai received heavy to very heavy rains due to the formation of a low-pressure region as the northeast monsoon (NEM) has set in.

Six more convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case have been released as per the orders of the Supreme Court (SC). The decision has been widely celebrated by the Dravidian and Tamil nationalist parties, while the Congress party has opposed the decision.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led government has convened an all-party meeting against the SC verdict approving the 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS).

The state government withheld decisions to outsource workforce in group C and D category works and hand over 5,000 acres of land allocated to the Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation (TNTPC) after opposition from the employees and workers' unions.

FIVE KILLED IN FIRECRACKER UNIT BLAST

In another major accident in a firecracker manufacturing unit, five workers were killed, and ten workers were injured in the Madurai district. The blast occurred by noon on November 10, reducing the VBM Fireworks Unit at Azhagiri to rubbles.

The bodies of the dead were blown into pieces as a result of the explosion, which killed R. Ragupathi Kondammal, S. Vallarasu, P. Ammasi, G. Gopi, and K. Vikky.

The government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs to families of the dead. The police have arrested Anushiya Devi, the licence holder of the company. The trade unions in the firecracker industry have been calling to improve and ensure the implementation of safety measures in the companies to prevent deaths, but the accidents continue to claim lives.

NEM BRINGS HEAVY RAINS

The NEM has brought heavy and very heavy rains in the surroundings of Chennai and the delta districts. Colleges and schools in 18 districts were closed due to heavy rains.

Several parts of Chennai were inundated by rainwater on November 11 due to heavy overnight rains. Around 6,000 relief camps have been set up across the rain-affected districts. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has deployed around 800 drainage pumps to remove rainwater.

Sirkazhi in Mayiladuthurai district received 436 mm of rain in 24 hours, a record rainfall for the region. Standing paddy crops in around 20,000 hectares are affected by the heavy rainfall in the district alone.

RAJIV ASSASSINATION CONVICTS RELEASED

The SC has ordered the release of 6 convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case. The order has been welcomed by the Dravidian and Tamil nationalist outfits. The convicts, Nalini Sriharan, Santhan alias Raviraj, Murugan, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran alias Ravi will walk out of jail.

The order was expected as the SC released another convict Perarivalan in May 2022 under its powers as per Article 142 of the constitution. Earlier the government of Tamil Nadu had recommended the early release of all seven convicts, but the governor did not accord permission for the same.

The Congress party and the Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) are the only parties to oppose the release of the convicts.

ALL PARTY MEETING AGAINST EWS JUDGEMENT

The government of Tamil Nadu held an all-party meeting on the SC order on the EWS reservation on November 12. Chief minister M K Stalin informed that the government rejects the 103rd Constitutional amendment ensuring 10% reservation for the EWS.

The meeting was boycotted by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

GOVT REVERSES OUTSOURCING NOTIFICATION

The government froze order 115 of the department of human resource management department to outsource group D employees to other categories. The chief minister announced that the terms of reference would be cancelled, and a fresh notification would be issued.

The Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association (TNGEA) and the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Association (TANSA) opposed the announcement and demanded the withdrawal of the order.

The TANTRA corporation reversed its decision to hand over around 5,000 acres back to the forest department after talks with the workers' unions. The government will constitute a committee to bring back the TANTRA from the loss in the last decade.

DMK SUBMITS MEMORANDUM TO PRESIDENT

The DMK MPs met President Draupadi Murmu and submitted a memorandum seeking her office to recall the governor of Tamil Nadu, RN Ravi. The memorandum was signed by the MPs of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA).

The alliance parties have accused the governor of violating his constitutional mandate and advocating the ideologies of the RSS. the governor has been holding on to several bills passed by the assembly without providing assent.

PRIME MINISTER VISITS STATE

Prime minister Narendra Modi attended the 36th convocation ceremony of the Gandhigram Rural Institute in Dindigul on November 11. He presented degrees to 2,300 students who graduated in 2018-19 and 2019-20 in the presence of M K Stalin, the chief minister and RN Ravi, the governor, and

inaugurated the Vande Bharat train between Mysuru and Chennai in an event held in Bengaluru, the first such train in the southern states.

PROTESTS

RETIRED TRANSPORT WORKERS PROTEST

The retired workers from the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) held protests across the eight divisions seeking the disbursal of DA and other retirement benefits.

RAMESWARAM FISHERMEN STRIKE

The fishermen in the Rameshwaram island in Ramanathapuram district struck work on November 8 against the continuous attacks by the Srilankan Navy. Around 15 fishermen were detained on November 6 by the Srilankan Navy near the international maritime boundary.

FARMERS PROTEST ONGC WORKS

The farmers in the Tiruvarur district held a protest against the extraction works by the ONGC in the exploration wells. The district collector said that only maintenance works were being carried out.

GUEST LECTURERS SEEK REGULARISATION OF JOBS

The guest lecturers working in arts and science colleges in Ariyalur district boycotted work from November 10, seeking regularisation of works. An order passed in 2019 has been put on hold, citing legal issues.