Din over Vilappilsala issue again

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A mere piece of paper cannot teach the City Corporation councillors any lessons on the parliamentary decorum expected from them. Making a mockery of the note circulated by the Mayor to the councillors to refrain from making regular interruptions in the Council proceedings, the councillors on both sides competed in raising a din over the Vilappilsala issue on Friday too.  It was the official agenda presented by Mayor K Chandrika that led to a pandemonium in the Council, with the UDF accusing the LDF of politicising the incident where a driver was beaten up by striking local people near the Vilappilsala waste treatment plant. The Mayor said that even when the Council was taking all steps to ensure that the construction works in the plant were completed to reduce the woes of the public, the Janakeeya Samithi was making things difficult. The Vilappil Janakeeya Samithi was trying to destroy the buildings and assets of the Corporation in the area, beating up Corporation employees and trying to derail the ongoing works, she said. The Corporation officials had to resort to a strike in front of the Secretariat because the police had not taken any action even when the Mayor had complained to the Chief Minister and top police officials.  V S Padmakumar, Works Committee Chairman who spoke next, said that the local people were receiving support from the ruling members and the police, or else they would not resort to such barbarism. This led to widespread protests from the UDF side. UDF leader Maheswaran Nair said that it was because the Chief Minister and the party had an ear to the problems of the local people there that a meeting has been called on August 1 to discuss the issue. ‘’Instead of taking the UDF into confidence, the LDF in the Corporation stooped to such low acts like lining up lorries in front of the Secretariat and blocking the roads. The Mayor must not listen to people like Padmakumar, who is bent on misleading her,’’ Maheswaran Nair said.  Majority of the UDF leaders said that it was wrong on the side of the LDF to launch a uncivilised mode of strike, instead of calling an all-party meet. ‘’The LDF wants to strike against the Government, instead of arriving at a solution to the problem,’’ they said. Finally, the discussion shifted to local politics in Vilappilsala, which added to the mess. When the matter was put to vote, the UDF members staged a walkout and the Mayor announced the agenda as approved.  The Council decided to give a financial assistance of ` 10,000 to the injured driver who is in hospital.  Meanwhile, the Janakeeya Samithi has alleged that the drivers were drunk and one of them had rammed the lorry into a boulder. ‘’The drivers behave in a rather uncivilised manner. The allegation against the Samithi is an attempt by the Corporation to derail the strike and get the leaders behind bars,’’ Janakeeya Samithi leader Burhan said. Temple SecurityAA resolution introduced in the Council by BJP leader P Asok Kumar asked the Government to take steps to ensure protection for the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.  A few commandos and police personnel are not enough; modern equipment must be installed for security, he said. The move to bar devotees from entering the ‘Ottakkal mandapam’ must be reviewed, he said. The ‘kal aana’, which is an archeological monument on the side of the Padmatheertham, must be preserved, the resolution demanded the State Government and the Archeological Department.