Bedi 'disturbing' team work of officials combatting COVID-19: Pondy Min

Puducherry, June 22 () Puducherry Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao on Monday charged Lt Governor Kiran Bedi with "disturbing" the team work put in by the government officials to combat COVID-19 in the Union Territory "day in and day out."

After furnishing details of the infections here during the last 24 hours, Rao said Chief Minister, Ministers and officials of Revenue, Health and other departments were implementing various measures after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the Union Territory.

Accusing the Lt Governor of "sleeping" during the first 70 days of the lockdown, he said she was now holding meetings every day at her office with officials, giving instructions to the bureaucrats.

"She is holding the meetings every day at her office without the knowledge of the Chief Minister and other Ministers," he said.

Rao, who had been at loggerheads with the former IPS officer on various occasions, also said, "by holding parallel meetings the Lt Governor is only disturbing the team work of the officials combating the pandemic."

Claiming that Bedi had through one of the meetings at her office asked officials to conduct a door-to-door survey of the families covered under the public distribution system, he sought to know how such surveys can be contemplated during prevalence of the pandemic.

An objection was raised against the instructions of Bedi for the survey at a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority on Sunday, held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister.

"Chief Minister issued an on the spot order that no such survey of beneficiaries of PDS and of fishermen families should be conducted," the Health Minister pointed out.

Rao, elected from the Yanam constituency, said all departments should join hands with the Revenue and Health authorities to prevent spread of the pandemic as it was the duty of all departments to function in tandem.

Each of the IAS officers should devote half the day for field visits daily to supervise implementation of anti-COVID measures.

Noting that the number of cases noticed every day was rising and falling, he said, "We should not be complacent once the numbers fell from the previous day figures as the results of the tests of samples of previous day were awaited."

He called upon the people and official machinery to remain cautious without taking the situation for granted. OR ROH ROH