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64 cashew workers arrested

By Our Staff Reporter

KOLLAM, June 12. Sixty-four cashew workers, who were on a strike and fast in front of a private cashew factory at Ayanikode, near Punalur, have been arrested by the police.

Those arrested include a good number of women and the president of the Anchal Grama Panchayat committee, Suja Chandrababu, who led the agitation there today. All of them have been remanded to custody for 14 days by a Punalur Court.

The cashew workers were on strike as part of the call given by the trade unions demanding the reopening of the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) and Capex factories. Many workers from the private cashew factories had joined the strike.

This afternoon, trouble erupted in front of the Punalur cashew factory when the workers prevented the managers from transferring a consignment of processed kernels from there.

Though the police intervened, the workers were adamant. They were then arrested and taken to the police station.

Though they were allowed to go on bail the workers refused to disperse. It was following this that all of them were produced before the magistrate court and remanded to custody.

VS's visit

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, V.S. Achuthanandan, today called on the cashew workers and leaders of the pro-CITU Kerala Cashew Workers Centre who are on fast in front of various cashew factories in the district since May 30.

Mr. Achuthanndan also got himself engaged in an exercise to coordinate between various trade unions so as to enable the cashew workers' strike gain better momentum.

The pro-AITUC Kerala Cashew Workers Central Council and the pro-INTUC Kerala Cashew Workers Congress have also undertaken separate fasts.

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