Vote bank kits' given away in safer areas

Kozhikode: The competition between political parties to distribute kits containing essential items to the flood-affected people has resulted in well-off people in safe areas also getting them.

The three mainstream fronts - LDF, UDF and NDA - are vying with one another to give best kits worth over Rs 1,000 to everyone in sight.

K.P. Ramesh, a resident of Eranhipalam, Shakthan Nagar colony, said: “The first kits containing rice, pulses, cereals and masalas were distributed in our area, which is safe from the floods, by the local CPM activists around 7 a.m. on Sunday. The majority of the residents are economically well-off and do not require any such supplies. Then came the second set of kits containing similar items plus vegetables from the local UDF men. I realised that the parties were indulging in vote bank politics at a time of calamity in the state. In the evening came the kits from the BJP activists, which were more attractive and contained a bucket of cleaning materials, including mop and broom,” he said.

Many such kits reach-ed places which were not hit by the floods, while hundreds of deserving people were waiting for something to start a new life. “This is not the time to take political mileage out of the situation,” said noted activist M.A. Johnson. We need more people to clean the houses and public places and bring back normalcy. Political parties even mounted flex boards at several relief camps after the calamity, he added.

The district representatives of the political parties denied the charges and said that kits were given to all people who were affected directly or indirectly.