Vaniyambadi civic chief not at fault, don’t shift him: Women vendors

Tirupattur Collector MP Sivan Arul told this reporter that the two affected women vendors, Chitra and Poongudi (whose fruits/vegetable carts were overturned by Thomas), accompanied by the TN Traders Federation (TN Vanigar Sangam) representatives, handed over a petition demanding that Cecil Thomas be retained. The vendors said that there was no fault on the party of the commissioner, and he initiated action as we did not obey his orders.

The Collector said he would forward the petition to the Municipal Administration Commissioner (CMA) for appropriate action.

Vanigar Sangam Tirupattur district secretary KBS Madheswaran said “we told the Collector that nobody’s human rights was affected by the commissioner’s action and hence all of us – from different walks of life and trades – wanted him to be retained as he had worked efficiently to ensure there was no spike in coronavirus cases.”

Locals reiterated Madheswaran’s words, saying that the town’s uzhavar sandhai (farmers market), which earlier resembled the Kasimedu fish market, now follows lockdown norms due to Cecil Thomas’ sustained action.

Meanwhile, Vellore-based RDMA, who granted additional charge of Vaniyambadi to Babu, said “he is likely to take charge in two days”.