When a march to champion the cause of Manjolai tea estate workers turned fatal

On July 23, 1999, 17 labourers of the tea estate in Tirunelveli district died when they tried to cross the river to escape the ‘lathi’ blows of the police. They were part of at least 3,000 workers and members of Opposition parties taking out a procession demanding more pay and better working hours. An altercation with the police led to the violence