Daijiworld Media Network- Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Oct 16: Members of the Old Port Labourers Association and the DYFI Port unit staged a protest in front of the newly constructed Indira Canteen near the old municipal office at Old Port, demanding the immediate commencement of canteen services.

The protest was organized to draw attention to the district administration’s negligence in failing to open the Indira Canteen that was prioritised for the Old Port area. Home to a large number of hamali (loading/unloading) workers, fishermen, lorry and tempo drivers, and other labourers engaged in loading and fish market activities.

Addressing the protestors, B K Imthiyaz, president of both DYFI district committee and Port Labourers’ Association, said that the workers who contributed immensely to the city’s economic development are now being neglected. “Though years have passed since the construction of the Indira Canteen, it has not yet been opened. Poor workers, who cannot afford costly hotel food, have been deprived of a basic facility meant for them. The administration must immediately start the Indira Canteen services to serve the needy,” he urged.

Santosh Bajal, DYFI district secretary, said that Indira Canteens were established across Karnataka following DYFI’s long-standing demand, inspired by Kerala’s ‘Maveli Hotels’ and Tamil Nadu’s ‘Amma Canteens.’ “The Siddaramaiah-led government had initiated this scheme to provide subsidised food for the poor. However, the authorities’ and representatives’ lack of willpower is evident in their failure to open one in the port area, where it is most needed,” he added.

Prominent among those present were Farooq Ullalbail, Shameer Boliyar, Madhav Kavoor, Mohan Kumpala, Harish Kerebail, Akbar, Sharif Kuppepadavu, Hakeem Bengre, Imran, U PAbbas, Hanif, DYFI leaders Tayyob Bengre, Ashraf Bandar, Naushad Bengre, Hanif Bengre, Rizwan Kolnad, Kadar Adyapady, and auto and tempo drivers’ association leaders Ansar Bajal and Nisar Bengre.