Kottayam medical college incident: Vasavan denies search ops delayed, Cong disagrees

Kerala Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan on Friday claimed that search and rescue operations at the collapsed portion of the Kottayam Medical College were not delayed or stopped, a contention with which the opposition Congress disagreed.

The minister's statement came amidst intensified protests from the opposition Congress and BJP, demanding Health Minister Veena George's resignation, a day after a 52-year-old mother of two died in the building collapse.

Protests were held in the state capital and other towns, including Kollam and Pathanamthitta, by the BJP, its youth wing Yuva Morcha and various wings of the Congress demanding her resignation.

Protestors tried to overturn barricades, clashed with police personnel and faced several rounds of water cannons at various places in the state, including the state capital.

While the Congress and BJP termed the death as ''tantamount to murder'', Vasavan said such allegations were ''politically motivated''.

George, in a Facebook post, said she was distressed by Bindu's death and shared the family's grief.

She assured that the government will stand by Bindu's family.

The minister also said the Health Department and the State Disaster Management Authority together have formulated a 'Hospital Safety Plan' to ensure the safety of the 1,280 public sector health facilities in Kerala.

The necessary outline and guidelines for the Hospital Safety Plan have already been prepared in the workshops conducted under the leadership of the State Disaster Management Authority with the participation of relevant experts and funds for the necessary training have been allocated, she said in a statement.

Through this safety plan, the most important risks or problems that health institutions and hospitals in Kerala may face can be understood, classified and solutions can be found, she said.

Besides that, a safety and fire audit were also conducted in hospitals under the Health Department in collaboration with the police and fire force, the statement said.

Vasavan, earlier in the day, announced that the government will provide Rs 50,000 for the funeral.

Following this, Congress MLA from Kottayam Chandy Oommen announced a financial assistance of Rs five lakh for Bindu's family. He said that the amount would be provided by the Oommen Chandy Foundation.

He made the announcement after reaching Bindu's home.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, who also visited Bindu's family demanded that the government provide them with Rs 25 lakh as financial assistance and also take over treatment of her daughter.

Earlier, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph, who too visited the family, alleged that ministers Vasavan and George, who arrived at the scene after the incident, tried to ''whitewash'' and ''simplify'' it, resulting in the search operations being delayed.

He claimed that George had no moral or legal right to continue in office.

Joseph also accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of not even trying to carry out a preliminary inquiry about the incident after he arrived at the hospital.

''There has been serious dereliction of duty and criminal negligence in the matter,'' he alleged after visiting the family of the deceased woman, Bindu, at their residence in Kottayam on Friday.

He said that the Congress would hold peaceful protests in connection with the incident and demanded a judicial probe into it.

Bindu (52) died and three others -- Aleena (11), Amal Pradeep (20), and Jinu Saji (38) -- were injured in the incident.

In the morning, Vasavan told reporters that his and George's remarks about no one being there in the collapsed structure were based on information provided by hospital authorities, including the medical superintendent.

Vasavan claimed that on reaching the site, he immediately told the fire and rescue personnel to arrange an excavator or JCB to clear the debris and look for anyone trapped underneath it, but it took time to bring the heavy machinery there as a path had to be created for it.

''So, rescue operations were neither stopped nor delayed. Such allegations are politically motivated and made for political gains,'' he contended.

Meanwhile, heartbreaking scenes were witnessed at Bindu's home where the grief of her family was evident from their tear-filled eyes, dejected and blank stares and loud cries as they sat alongside her remains, which were kept for public display for relatives, friends and neighbours to pay their last respects.

The last rites of Bindu were performed in the second half of the day. Her body was cremated in a plot of land belonging to her sister as there was no space for it where she had lived.

The toilet complex adjacent to wards 10, 11, and 14 at Kottayam Government Medical College collapsed on Thursday while the hospital was in the process of fully shifting operations to the newly constructed surgical block.

Bindu from Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam district was pulled out from the debris more than two hours after the incident and was declared dead.

The woman's family on Friday claimed that till now no ministers or anyone from the government had contacted them. Her husband claimed that he was present at the hospital after the incident, but none of the ministers even bothered to get in touch with him.

Minister Vasavan said that discussions were held with the woman's family through government representatives and their demands -- including a quick post mortem -- were considered.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)