HC criticises Kerala govt for ineffective crowd control, orders look into shops' reopening

The Kerala High Court on Thursday pulled up the state government for not controlling crowds effectively. The HC stated that the crowd control methods of the state are falling short. It also directed the government to look into re-opening of shops.

The Kerala High Court criticised the State government stating that crowd control is not being implemented effectively in Kerala. The Court also pointed out that it is time for the state government to make a policy decision regarding the complete re-opening of shops in the state. The directions came following a continued rise of COVID-19 in the state. The state government has lately been receiving the heat from the public for keeping a harsh stand on not allowing shops to fully open.

Merchants at loggerheads with CM Vijayan

The Kerala government had run into trouble last week when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan disallowed any conversation with merchants over the reopening of shops. The shopkeepers had asked the government to allow the reopening as they continue to pay taxes and rent for their godowns and shops, without carrying out any business. However, CM slammed the request and said that any such attempts to reopen shops by the merchants will be “dealt with.” The various merchant’s unions along with the opposition parties lashed out at the government over the CM’s "threat" against those shopkeepers.

Kerala HC questions govt regarding the Bevco queues

While shops and schools remain closed in the state, the Kerala government had allowed full function of the state-run BevCo liquor outlets. The reopening of the outlets had caused sinuous queues in front of BevCo outlets amidst the pandemic. Following the overcrowding scenarios being reported from across the state, the Kerala HC had criticised the government for not controlling its people.

The court also directed Excise Commissioner and BevCo MD to file an affidavit in this regard. "You cannot have more than 20 people for a wedding or the funeral, but you can have more than 500 people in the queue. The people standing in the queue are not following social distancing," the court said. According to the state health department, Kerala recorded 15,637 new Covid cases as of Wednesday, July 14. The death toll for the day stood at 128, while the test positivity rate was recorded at 10.03.

IMAGE: PTI/ SHUTTERSTOCK