KOCHI: The CPM district secretariat on Monday launched a blistering attack on Mayor Soumini Jain over the issues surrounding the Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) service, the abrupt suspension of which has led to a major loss of face for the Corporation. The party will take out a march to the Corporation headquarters on Tuesday in protest against the delay in resuming the Ro-Ro service.
"The recent 'drama' in which the Mayor was hospitalised was a deliberate attempt to deflect the public's attention from the Ro-Ro issue. It was as per a drama scripted by K V Thomas MP the Mayor, who was safely escorted out of the Corporation office by the police, later got herself admitted to hospital," alleged CPM district secretary P Rajeev.
He further said the Corporation had not taken any safety measures prior to launching the state-of-the-art facility. "The Ro-Ro vessel built at a cost of `16 crore using state government funds had been lying idle at the Shipyard for nearly a year. The Corporation team did not think about constructing a boat jetty to accommodate such a vessel. Another two months were wasted even after the construction of the boat jetty due to lack of related infrastructure. No attempt was made to form an SPV to manage the service," said Rajeev.
The district secretariat urged the Corporation to take steps to launch the service at the earliest. "The CPM will not be party to attempts to remove the KSINC from the charge of operating the service," he said.