Virudhunagar cracker workers stuck in life-death loop

A few days ago, a candidate contesting from the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency appeared at Rengasamuthrapatti village of Mamsapuram to seek votes but instead of doing a door-to-door campaign, as one would expect, the candidate didn't even step out of the vehicle.

- HARINI M

This did not surprise K Periyakaruppan (44), a firecracker unit worker and a resident of this town which has a significant Schedule Caste (SC) population. In May 2023, Periyakaruppan's daughter S Muthulakshmi lost her husband to a firecracker unit blast in Oorampatti village of Sivakasi.

"I can hardly remember any MLA or MP visiting our area, except during the time of election," said Periyakaruppan who is worried about his daughter's safety as she also works in a cracker unit to run the family which includes her two children aged six and seven.

Like other SC residents in the locality, Periyakaruppan's family too didn't choose this work. The work chose them.

"After my husband's death, I was provided with a solatium and was assured a job. Despite several attempts to reach out to authorities, I couldn't get the job and ended up working at the unit to make ends meet," said Muthulakshmi.

Ever since the candidates of this constituency filed nominations for the 2024 parliamentary elections, their promise to address the plight of cracker unit workers has echoed all across Virudhunagar, Sivakasi, and Sattur assembly segments which have over 6.7 lakh voters.