Meat traders appeal to TN CM to save small retail traders

Chennai, Mar 15 (UNI) The Federation of Tamil Nadu all Meat Traders Associations today appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to take steps to prevent entry into retail trade by Corporate giants and Multinational company's like Reliance.

President of the Federation B Safeer Ahamed and General Secretary R Anbuvendhan told newsmen here that if Corporate giants and multinationals were allowed into retail trade, small traders who were engaged in the retail trade for the past several decades would be severely affected.

They said the Federation would extend its support to the proposed one-day strike by Koyambedu Vegetable and Fruit markets Association on March 23, to protest against entry of Corporates and MNCs into retail trade.

They also thanked the Tamil Nadu Local Administration Minister M K Stalin for his announcement that 37 slaughter houses in Tamil Nadu would be modernised. They appealed to him to initiate necessary action immediately for taking up modernisation of the slaughter house in the city, for which he laid the foundation stone in 2001 when he was the Mayor of Chennai.

They also expressed concern over the fact that the recent budget for the Corporation did not make any mention of modernising the slaughter house in Chennai.

They welcomed the Chennai Corporation's move to make the employees in funeral grounds as Corporation employees also made an appeal to make all the employees of the Corporation slaughter house also be made as Corporation employees.

To a question, they said there were about 10,000 meat stalls in and around the city and about one lakh people were depending on these meat shops.

They said the Federation will organise a state-wide stir shortly to draw the state government's attention to their long pending demands.

The Federation also thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for requesting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ban online trade in essential commodities to check price hike.

UNI