Kerala - Kochi   

Snapping of power to hospital: Corporation suspends 2 officials

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation has suspended two officials of the health section pending inquiry on the charge of dereliction of duty in connection with the disconnection of power supply to the Palluruthy government hospital.

Baby Mathew, superintendent, and Vijayan, section clerk, were the ones suspended following a decision taken at the Council meeting here on Saturday.

Power supply to the Palluruthy hospital as well as three other government hospitals was disconnected after they failed to pay power bill arrears.

The Council observed that the health section officials failed to pay the electricity bill despite availability of funds even after receiving an intimation from the Kerala State Electricity Board warning of disconnection.

The decision, however, led to heated arguments between the opposition and ruling Councillors. While the ruling Councillors including Mayor Mercy Williams and Deputy Mayor C.K. Mani Sankar favoured suspension of the officials, a section of the opposition Councillors were for suspending the officials only after conducting an inquiry.

On the issue of illegal constructions on the Corporation land in Mattancherry, the Mayor asked the Fort Kochi assistant executive engineer to demolish the structures.

Councillors, cutting across party lines, raised complaints about a housing project being implemented under the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP).

The Council adopted a resolution calling for stringent action on the part of police and the State government against over-speeding private buses and tipper lorries. Leno Jacob moved the resolution in the wake of an accident in which a student died in a road accident involving a private bus on Friday.

Councillors severely criticised the police for introducing traffic reforms without taking the Corporation into confidence. P.S. Biju, Winnie Abraham, Thangarajan, Johnson Master, Haseena Khader, Lailamma George, C.K. Gopalan, M.S. Girish, K.G. Dineshan, Sheela Jerome, Shyamala Prabhu, K.J. Antony and K.J. Basil participated in the discussions.

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