Salt pan workers happy over govt. dole

₹5,000 will be given to them during non-production season

D. Mukilvannan, who operates a salt pan along with his wife Lakshmidevi on a leased plot in Marakanam, is happy about the government’s decision to give ₹5,000 as dole per person during the non-production season. Salt pans in Kovalam near Chennai and in Marakanam function from February to August. The pans in Vedaranyam function till September and those in Thoothukudi close by October. They are usually flooded due to the rains in the monsoon and the ridges of mud are made again after the waters recede when salt production commences again. Salt industry workers thanked DMK MP Kanimozhi for her efforts in providing the dole. “I run the production on an old system called Thannpaadu where I am the owner and the labourer. We don’t have work for six months in a year and during this time do small odd jobs and manage. However, I don’t have any membership in the welfare board. I am now worried as to how they will include our names,” he said.