Chaos at freebies distribution

Around 20 persons, including women, were injured as Police used batons following chaotic situation at a centre where free mixers and grinders were distributed under a government scheme near here today.
Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister N Rangasamy assured that no family would be left out and announced additional centres for smooth distribution of the appliances, an electoral promise made by the ruling AINRC.
With a large number of people gathering from early morning in front of a school where the distribution was slated, a near stampede situation was seen as soon as distribution commenced.
With people becoming restive, police intervened and tried to regulate the crowd. As the situation become unmanageable, they used lathis to bring the situation under control.

At least 20 persons, most of them women, suffered 'minor' injuries, officials at the centre said.
The distribution was stopped for a while and resumed after normalcy returned, they said.

Police, however, maintained there was no lathicharge and they only made an intervention to regulate the crowd.
Rangasamy told reporters that a chaotic situation emerged in the premises of the school in neighbouring Kadirkamam when a large number of card holders from various assembly segments turned up to get the appliances.
He said five centres would be set up in each of the Assembly constituencies to distribute the mixies and grinders. 'No family would be left out of the scheme as the government had sufficient stocks of mixies and grinders distribution of which commenced in October in some of the Assembly segments'.

Around 3.1 lakh families are being covered under the scheme.