Coimbatore: The Chinthamani Employees' Union has asked the State Government to intervene immediately in the affairs of the 40-year-old cooperative supermarket and redress the grievances of the employees.

In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, the honorary president of the union, M. Arumugham, said that the supermarket established in 1966 had emerged the best in Asia itself.

Over the years, because of bureaucratic control, its condition had become so bad that for the last 15 months the staff had not been paid their salary. Pointing out that oil extraction units at Ondipudur and Peelamedu and the banian unit at Tirupur had been wound up, he said that the sale of the machinery of these units would fetch the institution about Rs. 50 lakh.

Pathetic condition

He alleged that despite the pathetic condition of the unit, several items, including detergents, atta and rava, were procured at the instance of the erstwhile Cooperation Minister at a cost of Rs. 25 lakh and they were lying at the supermarket unsold. "Action should be initiated against the official who procured them." Mr. Arumugham requested the State Government to dispose of the sites owned by the unit at Peelamedu and Ondipudur and that amount should be used to get back the site at the Chinathamani Head Office, which was sold to the District Central Cooperative Bank.

Also, if some of the IMFL shops were allotted to the supermarket, it could fetch considerable profit to the institution.

Referring to the huge interest that the unit had to pay to the District Central Cooperative Bank, he pleaded that the entire loan amounting to Rs. 4 crore obtained by Chinthamani should be written off as in the case of cooperative farm loans.

While the staff of all the consumer cooperative stores had received the bonus announced by the Tamil Nadu Government for 2004-05, it was only the employees of Chinthamani who were yet to get it, he lamented.

Hence, steps should be initiated to disburse bonus to them also.

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