Anger among sanitation workers in Tirunelveli escalated after breakfast supplied under a State government scheme was found to be foul-smelling, watery and allegedly caused illness, prompting workers to dump the food in garbage bins and publicly accuse authorities of treating them with contempt.
The free breakfast scheme for sanitation workers was announced by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin and has been implemented in the Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation for over a month, covering more than 750 workers across four zones. However, workers say the scheme has become a source of distress rather than relief.
“There Is Absolutely No Quality”
Sanitation workers in the Thachanallur zone said the food supplied on Tuesday emitted a foul odour and was unfit for consumption.
“The food has no quality. There is absolutely no quality. We are having loose motions. It is like this. We have to just throw it away,” a worker said.
Another worker alleged that instead of addressing their long-standing demand for higher wages, the administration was offering substandard food as a substitute.
“When we ask for a salary hike, they give us food. They think we are slaves to food. I don’t know when they decided that sanitation workers should be treated like this,” the worker said.
Pointing to the food served, workers described its condition in detail.
“Look here, see how this food is. You can’t tell when it was cooked. Water is oozing out. Look here, see how the food is. It is watery, just watery. Look at the sambar here. It is watery, watery food. The food is at the bottom of the plate,” one of them said.
Allegations of Illness After Consuming Food
A sanitation worker recounted falling seriously ill after consuming breakfast provided during the initial days of the scheme.
“Sir, on the first day they gave pongal. After eating that, I kept vomiting and purging. I had to take a week’s leave and lie at home. I told them that day itself: ‘Sir, the food is not okay at all. We don’t want this food,’” the worker said.
According to the worker, officials dismissed the complaint.
“They said, ‘No, as our duty we will give you the food. You can throw it away or do whatever you want, we don’t care. We just have to show it in the records that we gave it,’” the worker alleged.
Since then, workers said they have been routinely discarding the meals.
“We couldn’t do anything. We just take it and keep throwing it away. Till yesterday, that is all we have been doing – taking it and throwing it away. This kind of food, we would rather buy and eat from a shop,” the worker said.
“For Three Days, the Same Watery Food”
Another sanitation worker said the same poor-quality food had been supplied repeatedly.
“For three days they have been giving only this food. For three days, the same food. This pongal here – no, it is upma – this doesn’t even have any consistency. It is just watery. Watery. It has a bad smell,” the worker said.
The worker also questioned the cost and priorities behind the scheme.
“For one meal it is 100 rupees. For this food they are giving us, our salary… Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has given us free breakfast. It has been one month of this. For one month we have been eating this breakfast. But after eating it for a month, we have been spending all our money only in hospitals,” the worker alleged.
Displaying the meal to reporters, the worker added: “Look here, see this food here. This is how it is. This is the morning food. See here, how this food is.”
Wage Demand, Not Food
Workers stressed that their protest was not against welfare measures but against what they described as misplaced priorities.
“They are trying to kill us with this kind of food,” a worker said, naming the Chief Minister. “We are not coming here for food. We have come asking, ‘Increase our salary and give.’ They give us a salary of 540 rupees. We are asking them, ‘Give us 700 or 800 rupees salary.’ But instead of raising our salary, they are cheating us by giving this food.”
Sanitation workers in Tirunelveli alleged that they have been served poor-quality food since Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the scheme. “We experienced various health issues after consuming this food. When we demand proper wages, the government offers us poor-quality food… pic.twitter.com/bM4QZrRmnI
— Thinakaran Rajamani (@thinak_) January 30, 2026
Source: Maalai Malar
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