Oppn stalls proceedings of Kerala Assembly

Thiruvananthapuram, July 13: The Congress-led Opposition stalled proceedings of the Kerala Assembly today forcing Speaker K Radhakrishnan to adjourn the House for the day immediately after the Question Hour.

The Opposition members squatted in the Well of the House shouting slogans after the Speaker refused leave for an adjournment motion on the alarming situation, consequent on the spread of viral fever which had claimed several lives in the state during the last two months.

Mr Radhakrishnan declined leave for the motion on the ground that the issue had already been discussed in the House several times.

Though he agreed to take up the issue as a submission, the Opposition insisted on moving an adjournment motion.

Raising the issue, Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy said the state was under the grip of viral fever with deaths reporting every day.

He alleged that the government's crisis management system thoroughly failed to tackle the disease and provide relief to the affected families.

None of the families of the deceased would get the ex-gratia of Rs 25,000 announced by the government as the deaths did not come under the category of chikungunya, he said and added that majority of the families had not received the two weeks' free ration.

Mr Chandy also said there was shortage of doctors in rural hospitals and shortage for effective drugs for the disease.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan opposed an adjournment motion on the issue as it had already been discussed in the House.

Agitated over the 'attitude' of the government, the Opposition members squatted in the Well of the House forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day.

Later, talking to reporters, Mr Chandy said the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) would launch an agitation unless the government took immediate steps to control the disease. The UDF liaison committee scheduled to meet here tomorrow would finalise the agitation programmes. He urged the government to send house surgeons from government medical college hospitals (MCHs) to rural health centres to meet the shortage of doctors to treat the affected. There are about 700 house surgeons in five MCHs and their services could be utilised to tackle the disease.

Alleging delay on the part of the government in providing relief to the affected families, Mr Chandy said the people would have got much relief had the government implemented the health insurance scheme brought up by the previous government headed by him.

A Central grant of Rs 45 crore had been lost by not implementing the scheme, he added.

UNI