Kerala: Cashew workers hope big

KOLLAM: The cashew workers in the district,  who have been jobless for the past nine months, are pinning their hopes on the LDF government to revive the 30 factories under the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) which has been hit by various corruption scandals amounting to  Rs 500 crore.

The corporation, the biggest public sector employer in the cashew sector,  had turned into a white elephant during the last government’s tenure and the factories under it have remained idle. The UDF government had pumped in Rs 260 crore to the sinking corporation, but it has not paid the last five years’ gratuity to the workers and has defaulted on the  PF and ESI dues.

“The previous government has not conducted any  inquiry and the culprits are at large. This reflected in the election results also as even the workers affiliated to the Congress party did not  vote for the UDF,” said Mr Kadakampally Manoj, the whistle-blower behind the CBI inquiry into the corruption.

The UDF government had  also not taken action to register an FIR on the corruption charges  despite the quick verification report filed by the Vigilance against the culprits.  “The new government will take the initiative to conduct a CBI inquiry into the charges. The home department will consider it seriously without any compromise,” former MLA P.K. Gurudasan told DC.