Nagercoil, Nov 29: The Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) has issued a request that MLAs must attend meetings held for redressing fishermen's grievances. Party officials including State Women's Wing Coordinator Maria Jennifer and State Coordinator Deepak Solomon attended a recent grievance meeting. Speaking afterward, Maria Jennifer stated that these grievance meetings have become mere eye-wash. Major livelihood issues such as sea erosion, occupational safety, infrastructure development, and overall progress are not being addressed or resolved during these sessions. Currently, only minor issues like street light repairs, electricity problems, and road maintenance are being handled, which the government departments should be doing routinely anyway.

Specifically, coastal roads in several villages in Kanyakumari district have been disconnected due to sea erosion. A demand to build a road connecting 47 fishing villages in the district has been pending for over 3 years, but the district administration has not even prepared a project report. Maria Jennifer emphasized that these grievance days should be conducted with departmental officers and experts to discuss and find solutions for the fishermen's needs. Furthermore, she insisted that local body representatives and MLAs must participate in these events to listen to and address the people's grievances directly.