Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan on Tuesday made a surprise visit to the Government Law College here.
The fourth-semester examination was on when Mr Khan arrived at the college. He waited until the tests were over and met students as they exited the examination hall. Mr. Khan inquired how they had performed and reminded them that society could combat COVID-19 outbreak only by vigilance and not panic or alarm. He also asked students not to allow fear of the infection upset their academic schedule.
Later, Mr. Khan told newspersons that anxious calls from parents on Monday night had prompted him to make an impromptu call at the examination centre.
Several had demanded that the Governor, as Chancellor, cancel the examination given the virus threat.
However, college and university authorities assured the Governor that they had taken due precaution. The invigilators had laid out the desk and benches in the examination hall with sufficient space in between. They had also provided hand sanitisers.
Mr. Khan said he wanted to send a message to the student community that it was safe to write examinations with due caution. He hoped his appearance in the college served the purpose.
Mr Khan said he did not think it worthy of commenting on a news report that he holidayed in Ponmudi when the government had closed the hill resort to other tourists. He said he drew most pleasure from reading books and not sightseeing. “Books were my greatest support even when the government jailed me during the Emergency”, he said.
On Sunday, the Raj Bhavan had tweeted Mr Khan’s activities at Ponmudi. He appeared to have spent the better part of the day interacting with forest guards, eco-tourism guides, tribal welfare officers, representatives of forest dwellers and local tourism industry leaders.
The Raj Bhavan said Mr Khan had also reviewed the government’s health initiatives to insulate tribal people from the ravages of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Governor also sought information on waste management at the hill resort and measures adopted to prevent littering.
