A construction worker attempted suicide by consuming poison when he visited the Collectorate here to present a petition to Collector S. Malarvizhi, seeking to redress his grievance at the public grievance day meet on Monday.
After Ms. Malarvizhi resumed the meet, which remained suspended after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the just concluded Assembly elections came into force, a large number of public visited the Collectorate and presented petitions.
Police said that even as the Collector was receiving petitions, M. Thavidan (40) from Thamaraikulam in Tirupuvanam taluk swooned and fell unconscious.
On the orders of the Collector, the police rushed him to the District Medical College Hospital here. Enquiries revealed that he arrived at the Collectorate after consuming poison mixed with liquor.
His grievance was that one Gunasekaran, a contractor, awarded him some work but failed to make the payment after he carried out the work. Ten days ago, the contractor allegedly held out a threat to his life when the victim demanded money, the police said.
Ms. Malarvizhi said that he did not have a petition and might have dropped it elsewhere before arriving at the Collectorate.