Even as Kerala Government declared night curfew from Tuesday onwards on account of the grave situation in the State due to Covid-19, a civic body chief has come out in the open for the indifferent and callous approach of the administration towards pandemic control measures.
The Department of Health announced that 13,644 new persons were diagnosed with Covid-19 and 21 deaths were recorded till 6 pm Monday taking the total number of patients in the State to 1.25 lakh, T M Zakeer Hussain, chairman of Perumbavoor Municipal Council lambasted the Kerala Government for its indifference towards covid control measures taken by the civic bodies in the State.
“Though the Municipal Council had prepared a comprehensive pandemic control programme to be implemented from March 5, the Department of Health ordered us to stop all kinds of preventive measures planned by us. They told us that it was the responsibility of the State Government and the civic bodies need not bother about such responsibilities,” said Hussain while addressing a town hall meeting convened by him late Monday evening.
The young Municipal Chairman, who is known for his pro-active measures said that the civic body which he heads was the wealthiest local self-government body in Kerala. “But the concentration of power in certain agencies and refusal of the State Government to cooperate with the civic bodies has resulted in the pathetic position.
The civic bodies had prepared an action plan to control the spread of the pandemic but the intransigence of the State administration from the beginning of the break out of the disease has led to the present scenario,” said Hussain, a Congress leader.
The night curfew would be in place for the next 14 days. All private tution classes have been banned and only on-line classes would be allowed. The Universities in the State have postponed the degree and post graduate examinations following the intervention of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
All religious festivals and social gatherings that include the famous Thrissur Pooram would be held only symbolically with no crowd. The Pooram usually features 70 caparisoned elephants resplendent with colorful umbrellas and spectacularly designed fans. The festival attracts at least a million viewers from India and abroad and concludes with magnificent fireworks designed aesthetically by specially trained explosive makers of Thrissur.
Many civic body chiefs like panchayat presidents and block panchayath presidents alleged that the deterioration in Covid-19 in the State was due to the intransigent attitude of the State administration towards the local bosy governments.
“We do not have any problems in the Chief Minister, Health Minister and the CPI(M) walking away with the entire credit. But they should have incorporated us in the measures devised to counter the pandemic,” said Basheer, a former civic body member who opted out of election because of his disappointment with the centers of power in the state.