Onam Relief: Rs 2,250 for Cashew Workers, Festival Kits for Plantation Workers

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has announced Onam relief benefits for workers in the traditional sector, including financial support for employees of closed cashew factories and festival kits for plantation labourers.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal said workers of the 425 cashew factories that remain shut will receive an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2,250 each, an increase of Rs 250 from last year. The benefit will cover 13,835 registered workers. Along with the cash assistance, each worker will also be given 250 rupees’ worth of rice. The government has earmarked Rs 3.46 crore for the scheme.

Plantation workers in closed estates will be provided Onam kits through Supplyco. For this, each of the 2,149 workers will be given gift coupons worth Rs 1,000. The government has sanctioned Rs 21.49 lakh for the initiative.

Separately, the minister announced an additional allocation of Rs 50 crore to support workers in the state’s traditional industries during the festival season. The aid will be disbursed under the Income Support Scheme, which guarantees minimum wages.

As many as 3,79,284 workers in coir, fisheries, handloom, khadi, reed, bamboo, screw pine, beedi and cigar sectors will benefit from this allocation, the minister said.