KOTTAYAM: The protests over the death of a woman following the collapse of a building at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam escalated to violent confrontation between police and protesters on Friday. The protests, led by District Congress Committee, Youth Congress, BJP, and SUCI, turned the MCH campus into a literal battlefield.
The protest of the Youth Congress kept the entrance gate of the hospital in a state of tension for a long time. YC members, led by state president Rahul Mamkootathil, vice-president Abin Varkey, and MLA Chandy Oommen, marched to the hospital’s new gate.
The protest march, which began outside the MCH campus, turned tense when demonstrators tried to breach police barricades. In response, the police deployed water cannons to control the crowd. According to officials, protesters hurled bottles and stones during the agitation. Water cannons were used again when several demonstrators climbed atop the barricades, refusing to step down despite repeated warnings.
Besides the Congress, the BJP too intensified its protest over the issue. BJP workers entered the hospital premises through the main gate and staged a sit-in protest in front of OP block. Senior BJP leaders including Shobha Surendran, Lijin Lal, N Hari and B Radhakrishna Menon led the protest.
Earlier in the day, KPCC president Sunny Joseph visited the MCH campus. Addressing the media, Joseph alleged that Bindu, who lost her life in the building collapse, had suffocated under the debris for nearly two-and-a-half hours due to ministerial negligence.
“Instead of ordering immediate rescue operations and verifying whether anyone was trapped under the rubble, the ministers who visited the site downplayed the incident. They claimed no one was trapped and that nothing serious had occurred. It was a deliberate attempt to whitewash the tragedy. Both the ministers and the MCH authorities must be held accountable,” he said.
Highlighting that the collapsed building was in a dilapidated state, Joseph also said a fully equipped, newly constructed surgical block had already been completed. “When the accident occurred, patients were evacuated in a hurry. That same relocation could have been carried out earlier. What caused the delay?” he asked.
Meanwhile, MLA Chandy Oommen announced a financial aid of `5 lakh to Bindu’s family. The support will be extended through the Oommen Chandy Foundation.