Scuffle breaks out as police block anganwadi workers’ protest march

In Sivaganga, a scuffle broke out after police blocked nutritious meal and anganwadi workers, who attempted to take out a procession here on Saturday.

Members of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Nutritious Meal and Anganwadi Associations have been engaged in various protests since February 2, urging the government to provide time-scale pay as mentioned in the election manifesto.

They engaged in road blockades for the first three days. Following that, they have been holding a waiting protest in front of the District Collector’s office.

On the 12th day on Saturday, they gathered in front of the Sivaganga District Collector’s office and attempted to march through the main streets toward the Palace Gate. Police stopped them, leading to a scuffle between the two sides.

During this, the association’s State General Secretary Vasuki, along with Shanmugalakshmi and another woman, suddenly fainted. Fellow workers took them to the government hospital in an auto-rickshaw.

Later, defying the ban, as they marched as far as the Ramachandranar Park, police stopped them from proceeding. As the protesters barged through the police line, a brief scuffle broke out.