Following opposition from the United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership, a felicitation event planned by the Kattippara panchayat to honour those who voluntarily took part in the rescue operations at Karinchola, where 14 persons were killed in a landslip, was suspended on Friday. The UDF leadership alleged that the panchayat was in a haste to organise the event at Perambra without even attending to the basic rehabilitation needs of affected families in the region.
UDF sympathisers who staged a protest at Kattippara claimed that the felicitation event was planned by the local body without seeking the consent of the people who took part in the rescue operations. A majority of the volunteers were in favour of hosting such an event after completing the rehabilitation work in the region, they said. The protesters complained that the panchayat governed by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was trying to take political mileage by organising such an event without proper consultation with other political parties and organisations. They also argued that 15 affected families were yet to be shifted to the rented houses from the relief camps and it should be given first priority.
Chief guest stays off
As the UDF decided to boycott the event, the panchayat called it off. Excise and Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan, who was to be the chief guest at the event, also did not turn up after he was alerted by the Special Branch about the controversy. Panchayat sources said the event would be hosted later in consultation with other political party leaders and volunteers.
“We were not against the attempt to appreciate the role of the local rescue operators as all of them had contributed well to the cause. Our opposition was mainly against the attempt to host such an event in haste, without properly attending to the rehabilitation needs of affected families,” said Abdul Azeez, a UDF member from Kattippara. He said the 14 families at the relief camp were yet to get basic items such as clothes and kitchen accessories to shift to rented houses.
