The superintendent of Government Tribal Specialty Hospital at Kottathara, Attappady, Palakkad district, has come out against the State government for alleged attempts to make him a scapegoat for the failure of the Health department in Attappady.
Hospital Superintendent R. Prabhudas alleged on Sunday that he had been deliberately kept away from Attappady when Minister for Health,
Women and Child Development Veena George visited the place on Saturday.
Attappady tribal hamlets had witnessed a series of infant deaths in successive days owing largely to malnutrition, evoking strong criticism against the government from various quarters. The Oppsoition United Democratic Front (UDF) launched an agitation against the government’s “failure” in ensuring the health of the tribespeople in Attappady.
False meeting
Dr. Prabhudas alleged that he was summoned to Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday in the name of a meeting that never took place. He said a few higher officials in the Health department were playing a vendetta game.
The Minister had paid a surprise visit to Attappady on Saturday. Ms. George’s visit had been viewed as an attempt to prevent Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan from reaping dividends from his scheduled visit on Monday.
Dr. Prabhudas alleged that he was being held responsible for the government’s failure, without allowing him to present his side of the story.
He said that he would be happy to see the Tribal Specialty Hospital develop even if he was sidelined, adding that the hospital faced several shortfalls, including staff shortage.
