The Samyuktha Samara Samithi at Vilappil panchayat has decided to provide financial assistance to those injured in the clash with the police last week.
In a post-agitation stocktaking meeting on Monday, Vilappil panchayat president and samithi leader S. Shobhana Kumari said it was necessary for the panchayat to boost the morale and confidence of the residents who had been disconcerted by the confrontation, the second police action in less than six months at Vilappil.
The city Corporation’s bid to transport clay and machinery to the Vilappilsala solid waste treatment plant, as per a High Court order, was once again thwarted by residents on August 3 despite the presence of a large police posse and the clamping of prohibitory orders by the district administration.
“Rumours are rife in our panchayat after the clashes last week. There are reports that police are raiding houses of agitators. All these are false reports intended to create rift among us,” Ms. Shobhana Kumari told The Hindu .
“Nobody from the samithi is involved in the attacks on the police and the media. It was all done by anti-social elements who got into our midst to thwart our agitation. For the same reason we do not fear police inquiry. Let the law take its course,” she said.
All the 20 panchayat members and local leaders of political parties participated in the all-party meeting. The meeting decided to organise a public meeting at the Vilappilsala Sree Kanta Shastha Temple ground on August 10.
“Many of our people have been wounded in the police action. Some of them are not even going to hospital to treat their injuries fearing police action. We are calling this public meeting to ally all these fears,” said Vilappil panchayat vice-president Vinod Raj.
He added that the samithi will collect funds to pay for the treatment of those injured.
“The samithi will have to take responsibility of these people who stood by us during the worst crisis,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city Corporation is back to square one on the waste disposal front as the temporary facility of dumping waste at the Kochu Veli Railway Terminal has also come to a stop.
According to Corporation Health Officer D. Sreekumar, land filling, using waste, at the terminal as part of construction of a platform had been completed and no more garbage from the city would be needed there. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday organised a dharna in front of the Corporation office seeking immediate end to the garbage crisis.
