Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said the heavy flooding caused by the recent rain spell has raised questions about Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s much-hyped “Room for the River” flood-mitigation project.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Vijayan had visited the Netherlands at taxpayers’ expense to study flood-alleviation measures.
However, his “foreign junket” yielded no tangible benefit for the State. Flooded homes, waxing rivers overflowing their banks, inundated paddies, displaced families, lost homes, and livestock continued to characterise rainy seasons in Kerala.
The government appeared to care little about the public’s plight. He termed the “Room for the River” scheme a non-starter.
Mr. Satheesan accused the government of instructing doctors not to reveal the scale of the influenza pandemic sweeping the State.
Fever deaths had spiralled. Public hospitals were ill-equipped to handle the influx of patients. The need for more beds and medicines had constrained hospitals to accommodate patients on the floor. The monsoons caught the Health department ill-prepared.
He said the Gujarat High Court verdict upholding Rahul Gandhi’s conviction on a defamation charge was shocking and defied logic. He accused the Left Democratic Front in Kerala of aping the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre by stifling dissent and slapping false cases against journalists and Opposition leaders.
