Mangalore, July 26: Members of the South Kanara Beedi Workers' Federation (AITUC) were taken into custody by police after they tried to barge into the compound of the Deputy Commissioner's office to lay siege here on Thursday.
Prior to charging into the Deputy Commissioners office premises, the protestors shouted slogans against the government for cancellation of scholarships for the children of beedi workers.
Speaking on the occasion, P Sanjeeva, President of the Federation, said that although the government says that children deserve free and compulsory education on one hand, it has been unjust to poor beedi workers who had the facility of obtaining scholarships for their children's education. Politicians pocket crores of rupees through corruption but do not want to shell out scholarships to the children of the poor, he alleged. If grant of scholarship continues to be denied, many children may discontinue their studies, he said.
The protestors demanded that the government also dole out scholarships to students pending for the past two years. They also demanded that a sub-office of the Beedi Workers' Welfare Department be opened in Mangalore.
Police blocked the entry of the protestors when they tried to enter the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office. Many of them were taken into custody.
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