Kasargod: Nearly 7,000 complaints resolved at Kerala CM's programme
Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod (EP)
Kasargod, Nov 29: The Janasamparka programme held by Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy here on Friday November 29 in the midst of political controversies and opposition protests witnessed a large number of people coming towards him with complaints and requesting clarifications.
The programme that started at 9 am is expected to continue till late night. The chief minister who listened to the complaints solved most of them at the spot. Some complaints were forwarded to the departments concerned and are likely to be solved soon.
As many 6,908 complaints were received by evening. Except 301 of them, the others have already been solved. The 301 people with the unsolved complaints were allowed to directly meet the chief minister. Special arrangement was made for direct submission of complaints to the chief minister.
Protests by opposition left wing and BJP failed to disrupt the proceedings. The chief minister reached the venue one-and-a-half hours ahead of the scheduled time, while the left wing and the BJP reached there later.
Tight security led by ADGP Shanker Reddy and IG Suresh Rao Purohit was arranged around the chief minister and the venue. There were nearly 2,000 policemen.
The chief minister said that the beneficiaries of the central and state government programmes should be identified by gram sabhas.
He said that the programmes announced by the government do not reach the needy as they do not come to know of the schemes. He said that the government will draw the attention of the government in this regard. He said that special adalats will be started at district and taluk levels to solve the complaints of the people.
He said that coordination between the centre and the state will enable speedy disposal of the complaints. He added that endosulfan victims will be paid compensation. The complaints that could not be disposed off at the meeting will be transferred to the departments concerned and they will dispose them off in stages. He said that officials in some government offices are hesitating to act on complaints.
Janasamparka programmes have already been held at 8 districts and such programmes will be held in the remaining six districts by December 17. District incharge minister K P Mohanan presided over the programme. MLAs N A Nellikunnu, K B Abdul Razak, district commissioner Mohammed Sageer and other people representatives and officials were present.
The left wing and the BJP held a protest outside the venue demanding resignation of the chief minister in connection with the solar scam. The left wing took out a protest rally from the government college but the police stopped it near the venue. The dharna that was held thereafter was inaugurated by CPM district secretary K P Satishchandran. Govindan Pallikap presided over the dharna. P Raghavan, P P Shamaladevi, MLA E Chandrashekaran and K Kunhiraman Uduma particdipated in it. BJP also protested against reservation for Marathi community. The activists tried to enter the venue by breaking the barriers. They sat on dharna and protested. BJP state secretary K Surendran inaugurated the dharna.
The chief minister had arrived at Mangalore from Bangalore on Thursday November 28 night and proceeded to Kasargod by car. He stayed at the Kasargod guest house at night. He will be laying the foundation stone for Kasargod Medical College at Ukkinadka on Saturday November 30.