The groundswell of anger over the death of a 53-year-old woman following the collapse of an old building at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam escalated into a violent confrontation between Youth Congress activists and the police on Friday.
A protest march by the Youth Congress, which began outside the medical college campus, turned tense when demonstrators attempted to breach the police barricades. In response, the police deployed water cannons. According to officers, protesters hurled bottles and stones during the agitation.
Water cannons were used again when several demonstrators scaled the barricades, refusing to step down despite repeated warnings.
Youth Congress leaders, including Rahul Mamkootathil, MLA, and Abin Varkey led the protest and declared that the outfit would continue its agitation until the Health Minister resigned.
BJP sit in
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 the outpatient block. The demonstration was led by senior BJP leaders, including Shobha Surendran, Lijin Lal, N. Hari and Radhakrishna Menon.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph visited the medical college campus. Addressing the media, Mr. Joseph alleged that Bindu, who lost her life in the building collapse, had suffocated as she had remained 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 accident 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 medical college authorities must be held accountable for this failure,” he said.
Highlighting that the collapsed building was in a dilapidated condition, Mr. Joseph also pointed out that a fully equipped, newly constructed surgical block had already been completed. “When the accident occurred, patients were evacuated in a hurry. That same could have been carried out earlier. What caused the delay?” he asked.
Financial aid
Meanwhile, Chandy Oommen, MLA, announced a financial assistance of ₹5 lakh to Bindu’s family. The support would be extended through the Oommen Chandy Foundation.
Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan had announced earlier that the government would provide assistance to the bereaved family, including ₹50,000 to help with funeral expenses.
Published – July 04, 2025 07:11 pm IST
