PUDUCHERRY: Alleging that the overruling of his COVID-19 preventive measure in Yanam was a case of political vendetta, Puducherry Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao on Monday warned Lt Governor Kiran Bedi that she would be held responsible if anything went wrong.
The Lt Governor had overruled his decision to open grocery and vegetable stores once in three days in Yanam and supply essential items door to door.
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister in a review meeting chaired by him with the Regional Administrator of Yanam had taken a decision to close down grocery and vegetable shops for two days and keep them open on the third day. The people would be served through free door to door delivery of eight essential items including milk by the Yanam voluntary service association or Yanam old age home trust at wholesale rates.
The decision was taken as it was difficult to control the flow of people from Andhra Pradesh to Yanam leading to heavy crowding in markets, said Malladi Krishna Rao. He said that a lot of farmers of Yanam had their cultivable land in neighbouring areas of Andhra Pradesh and several people from Yanam were also working in Andhra Pradesh. Hence inter state movement of people was difficult to prevent.
People from neighbouring villages of Andhra Pradesh were finding Yanam closer than going to towns in Andhra Pradesh like Amalapuram or Kakinada, resulting heavy crowds in Yanam, said the minister.
However, the Lt Governor negated this decision conveyed to her by Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar. In her letter to the minister on March 29, the Lt Governor maintained that closing essential commodities shops for two days and opening on the third day would lead to a surge of people in the shops to purchase commodities within the window period. It would defeat the purpose of social distancing, however good the regulatory methods may be, she said.
Besides, the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs has to be followed in letter and spirit and shops dealing in groceries and vegetables should be kept open on all days so that people are assured of supply of essential commodities on all days, she said.
Further she advised the minister against door to door delivery of essential commodities by the two NGOs which were promoted by the Minister, as it was opposed by political bodies and civil society organisations.
Though he founded the NGOs, it was now being run by other people who were doing it for the past 22 years, the Minister said in defence. He said the administration has also invited other NGOs including from other political parties to come forward and participate in home delivery.
Hence in this circumstance, the Lt Governor will be responsible if anything goes wrong in COVID-19 prevention, he said.