After more than a decade of its opening, an Amma canteen near the old bus terminus in Arakkonam town in Ranipet got a fresh lease of life on Saturday as Minister for Co-operation V. Gandhiraj inaugurated the restored facility.

Civic officials said that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa virtually inaugurated Amma Canteens in Ranipet, Arcot, Arakkonam and Walajah towns in the district in 2015, when the scheme was launched in the State.

Since then, renovation of the facility was not done. “The municipality has completed restoration work of the canteens for the first time with improved civic amenities for visitors,” G. Anandan, Commissioner, Arakkonam municipality, told The Hindu.

Accompanied by Collector N. Priya Ravichandran, Mr. Gandhiraj inspected the renovated canteen, which was done at a cost of ₹11 lakh in the town.

The canteen in Walajah town that refurbished at a cost of ₹9 lakh will be opened to the public in the coming week.

 
The kitchen was refurbished with new water pipelines and utensils. Electrical lines were also checked thoroughly to prevent any power fluctuations and short circuit. An overhead tank with a storage capacity of 50,000 litres was cleaned.

 
Motor pump sets connected to borewells that supply water to the canteens were refurbished, to ensure uninterrupted water supply. A fresh coat of painting was also given to the facility.

 

Three children aged between 13 and 17 years were among seven persons from the Irular community who were rescued from a brick kiln in Minnal village near Arakkonam town in Ranipet on Thursday.

Revenue officials said that the rescued tribals were residents of Irular Colony near Arakkonam and Sriperumbudur town. The families of rescued tribals, including three boys, were paid an advance of ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 each by an agent before the boys were brought to work at the brick kiln.

Officials said that the brick kiln belongs to K. Palani, a local resident. The facility is being run by his two sons, namely P. Suresh and P. Suman. “Based on a tip-off, we conducted searches at the kiln. During an inquiry, rescued persons complained about inhuman treatment. Necessary legal action will be taken against the brick kiln owner,” said T. Ramesh, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), Arakkonam, who led the inspection.

Officials also said that the rescued tribals were forced to stay in small huts without proper access to drinking water and toilet facility. They were reportedly made to work for more than 15 hours a day. The rescued boys told revenue officials that the in-charge and his men would beat them up if they stood in the shade or even drank water. The boys were reportedly subjected to physical abuse, long working hours, and were living under sub-par living conditions.

Revenue officials have filed a case at Arakkonam Taluk police. The rescued persons were provided with release certificates signed by the RDO. The release certificate enables the rescued workers to receive financial aid and access government schemes meant for bonded labourers. Efforts will be taken to prevent the rescued boys and their families from falling into the trap again, officials said.

The BSNL has invited an expression of interest for outsourcing of operations and maintenance (O&M) of its Customer Service Centers (CSCs) in Tirupattur, Arakkonam, Arani, Chengam, Vaniyambadi, Sathuvachari and Bagayam.

According to a press release, sealed applications are invited for the selection of BSNL franchisees for O&M of its centres in these areas. The BSNL service centres act as the primary customer interface for providing various telecom services such as the sale of new 4G SIM cards, mobile prepaid recharges, 4G SIM upgrades, booking for new telecom services including Fibre-based high-speed internet connections, acceptance of bill payments for different telecom services, plan changes.

Interested firms and entrepreneurs can access the detailed Expression of Interest (EOI) document, eligibility criteria and application process through the official tender portal: https://www.etenders.gov.in/eprocure/app and https://bsnl.co.in/tenders/tenderlivesearch (Select Circle: Tamil Nadu | BA: Tamil Nadu Circle Office). The last date for submission of applications is November 27. For details, contact: 0416-2225499 or 9486104075, the release said.