Scores of Youth Congress cadre were arrested when they tried to take out a procession in the town protesting against the Centre for its failure to protect the fireworks industry, here on Friday.
The protest was led by district president M. K. M. Meenakshi Sundaram.
The cadre had planned to take out a rally in the town up to Kamaraj statue near market where they had planned to sit in for a hunger strike.
However, when they took out the procession, the police intercepted them and arrested the cadre.
“The fireworks industry has been fighting to remove the fireworks goods from the purview of Environmental Protection Act. However, the Centre has not helped the industry till date” he said.
Stating that State after State were banning bursting of crackers for the ensuing Deepavali season, Mr. Meenakshi Sundaram said that it would affect not only the fireworks industry, but also the allied industries involved in printing, packing and transporting.
The entire local economy of Sivakasi would be hit, he added.