KOZHIKODE: Former Kerala Minister P A Mohamed Riyas on Saturday alleged that he had been "sidelined" from the government's Nipah-related activities in the district and staged a protest outside the control room set up here to monitor the situation.
The Beypore MLA alleged that he was told by senior district officials, including the collector, that the health minister's office had directed that there was no need to listen to him or include him in the Nipah-related activities.
He staged the protest after reaching the control room to recommend setting up containment zones in the affected area, as was done in the past.
He also said that he wanted details of how many people in the affected area had been contacted by the authorities to assess their situation.
"We usually call all the people in the affected area. We did it last time when there was a Nipah infection," he claimed.
Riyas also said that Health Minister K Muraleedharan and the minister in charge of the district, A P Anilkumar, should be present in the area to coordinate and supervise the efforts.
He said that this was done during the time of the Left government under the instructions of then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Riyas said that Chief Minister V D Satheesan should take the lead in the matter and ensure that the concerned ministers were present on the ground and that everyone worked together irrespective of political differences.
He also said that the ministers should not make "unnecessary and controversial statements" in the current situation.
Anilkumar told reporters that there had been no lapses on the part of the government in the matter.
He also said that a strong system was in place to deal with Nipah and that it was functioning effectively.
A 43-year-old man was recently confirmed to have contracted the Nipah virus and is currently undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that can spread from animals to humans and, in some cases, between humans.
Fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, are the natural reservoir of the virus.
The infection can cause severe respiratory illness and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain tissue) and has a high fatality rate.
