Blaming the UDF Government for the tribal deaths in Attappadi, the Opposition staged a walkout in the Assembly on Monday, even as Chief Minister Oommen Chandy maintained that adequate measures had been taken by the government.
The Opposition walkout, the first in the ninth session of the 13th Assembly, which began on Monday, came after Speaker G Karthikeyan denied an adjournment motion on the issue. CPM’s A K Balan, who moved the adjournment motion, accused the government of negligence in tackling the deaths caused by malnutrition.
Despite the government’s promises, deaths still continue to occur in Attappadi and other tribal areas of the state, Balan said. On Sunday, a 34-year-old tribal youth died in Mananthavady owing to starvation, Balan said, citing a report in a Malayalam daily. “Official statistics show that 52 children died of malnutrition, but in reality, the deaths number around 230. More delays will lead to one-third of the tribal population being wiped out,” he said.
Chandy termed the deaths “an unfortunate incident that should not have occurred,” but said that the government had done everything “humanly possible” to prevent further deaths in the tribal areas, including the announcement of a package during the visit of Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. A task force led by S M Vijayanand has
been formed to supervise the implementation of the Attappadi package. The government has created 75 new posts in the health sector in Wayanad. A total of 91 tribals, who had lost their job
after AHADS (Attappadi Hills Area Development Society) became defunct, have now been given temporary jobs in connection with the implementation of the Attappadi package, Chandy said.
He denied that the death of the tribal youth on Sunday was owing to starvation. The District Collector’s report on the death said that the youth had purchased the ration items on schedule, Chandy said. Bowing to a request by the tribal communities, the government had also taken steps to procure ragi from the centre.
The walkout by the Opposition got mired in confusion after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the government was prepared to discuss the Attappadi deaths if the Opposition was not satisfied with his explanation. But by then, the Speaker denied the motion, and Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan announced the walkout.
