Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday criticised the state government over what he termed as "lack of coordination" in Nipah containment efforts and questioned the transfer of the Director of Health Services during a public health crisis.
Addressing a press conference, the former chief minister said it had been six days since the first Nipah case was confirmed in the state and alleged that the coordination required to prevent the spread of the virus was lacking.
“The necessary coordination to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus is not taking place in the required manner. That lack of coordination continues even now,” he said. Vijayan said Health Minister K Muraleedharan's response to the criticism was "inappropriate", but stressed that the opposition would not politicise the issue and would extend full cooperation to efforts aimed at containing the disease. “We are not prepared to politicise the issue. We will extend all cooperation in efforts to contain the disease,” he added.
He alleged that confusion prevailed among officials responsible for handling the outbreak and that the administrative machinery was functioning without the required level of coordination. “This is a situation that requires united and coordinated action, but that coordination is absent,” he said.
Referring to earlier Nipah outbreaks, Vijayan said ministers had camped in affected areas and personally coordinated response measures. “Unfortunately, such vigilance is not visible anywhere now. Even the Nipah control room appears to be functioning as though elected representatives should remain outside it,” he alleged.
The LoP also questioned the transfer of the Director of Health Services during the ongoing health emergency. “At a time when the situation is extremely serious, the government has moved to transfer the Director of Health Services. Replacing the person heading the department during such a critical period is, ordinarily, something that should be avoided,” he said.
Vijayan said the controversy stemmed from attempts to alter the established transfer mechanism within the department and questioned whether the decision had been taken with the knowledge and approval of the Chief Minister.
“A natural question that arises is whether this decision was taken with the knowledge and approval of the Chief Minister. That itself is a matter of concern,” he said. He also raised concerns over alleged contradictions in official statements regarding disease outbreaks and called for urgent measures to ensure the availability of essential medicines across the state.
“Many of the communicable diseases now being reported are becoming widespread because adequate pre-monsoon preventive measures were not carried out properly,” he said. The Left leader urged the government to focus on disease prevention, sanitation measures, hospital preparedness and medicine availability.
Vijayan also criticised the government's handling of wildlife attacks, noting that six people had lost their lives in such incidents within the past three weeks. “Whenever questions are raised about solutions, the response from those responsible has been one of ridicule rather than accountability,” he alleged.
Referring to the death of an Adivasi woman in a wild elephant attack at Suriyanelli, Vijayan claimed authorities had failed to act despite warnings from local residents about elephant movement in the area. He said the solution to the human-wildlife conflict lay in amending wildlife laws, a proposal put forward by the previous LDF government but not supported by the UDF. Vijayan also alleged that the UDF had promised to increase compensation for deaths caused by wildlife attacks from Rs 14 lakh to Rs 21 lakh, but had so far "failed" to implement the commitment.
Also read: What is Nipah Virus and how dangerous is it?
Follow us
