Free electricity to three wards of disaster hit areas of Wayanad for 6 months: Kerala power minister
Wayanad: State Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Tuesday directed the KSEB to provide free power for six months in the three landslides-hit wards of Meppadi panchayat.
The 1,139 customers who would benefit from this will also not have to pay their outstanding dues, if any, the minister said.
Besides that, Krishnankutty said that the Kerala State Electricity Board's (KSEB) ability to restore power in Chooralmala area, which was isolated following the landslides, helped in the rescue operations.
It was an arduous task to restore power lines that were broken by heavy winds and torrential rains, he said.
"There are 19,000 connections under the KSEB Meppadi section. Out of these, there were 385 household connections and 70 commercial connections in the Mundakkai-Chooralmala disaster areas." These were completely broken, electricity poles and transformers were all destroyed and the damage was estimated to be more than Rs 3 crore, he said.
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CPI(M) rebel Kunhikrishnan hopes for 5,000-vote win in Payyanur
Kannur (Kerala) (PTI): CPI(M) rebel candidate V Kunhikrishnan, who contested as a UDF-backed Independent from Payyanur here, on Saturday said he was hoping to win the Assembly election by a margin of 5,000 votes.
Kunhikrishnan was expelled from the CPI(M) earlier this year after raising allegations of corruption in the party’s martyrs’ fund against sitting MLA T I Madhusoodanan.
Speaking to a TV channel, Kunhikrishnan said he had announced his candidature as a mark of protest and not with expectations of victory.
However, he said the situation had changed drastically, with a strong undercurrent within CPI(M) votes favouring him.
"The undercurrent in CPI(M) votes cannot be measured. Now people are giving a response indicating victory with a margin of at least 5,000 votes," he said.
Payyanur is considered a CPI(M) stronghold, and a defeat for Madhusoodanan there would be a major setback for the party.
On political violence in Payyanur, Kunhikrishnan said he had been facing it since filing his nomination.
"The people leading this violence should think about how long they can continue it. It is the police which has to take the initiative to stop this violence as part of maintaining law and order. But the police are not intervening at the required level," he said.
Regarding his political future, Kunhikrishnan said efforts were underway to strengthen Left groups, and discussions were being held across Kerala in that regard.
"After discussing with others, a decision will be taken," he said.
Kunhikrishnan is among six former CPI(M) leaders who either exited the party or were suspended before contesting for the UDF in the April 9 Assembly elections.
Elections to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly were held on April 9, and the counting of votes will be held on May 4.
