CPM stages protest

Coimbatore: DMK ally CPM has joined hands with traders in Valparai in opposing the municipality’s move to seal shops that defaulted on payment of rent.
The cadres said the rent , fixed by the Valparai municipality, was high and must be brought down. They also demanded that the shops sealed by the municipal authorities should be reopened.
CPM functionaries, who held a protest on Saturday, said on Sunday that there was no response to their token agitation and hence they would continue to protest. They said the municipality was demanding higher rent which was unfeasible for the traders. “They are not providing basic amenities in the commercial complexes,” a trader said.