Thiruvanchoor flays Achuthanandan stance

KOTTAYAM: Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Sunday took a dig at Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan for criticising the government for organising the international workshop on disaster management.Speaking to reporters at the Press Club here, Thiruvanchoor said it was unfortunate for a senior leader like Achuthanandan to make allegations that the government had a hidden agenda behind organising the workshop.Several leaders from other parties had attended the meeting and did not say anything against the event. It was improper for the Opposition Leader to raise the allegations without attending the event, he said.Thiruvanchoor said Achuthanandan did not even show the courtesy to acknowledge to the invitation sent to him for the meeting.As many as 40 experts from across the globe took part in the workshop and expressed their opinion over the safety of the dams in Kerala.Later, the minister said the work on the two bridges at Panampadi and Chungam will begin by the second week of April.He said a sum of Rs 1.75 crore had been sanctioned for Panampadi bridge and Rs 49 lakh for Chungam bridge. The construction of the bridges was expected to be completed by March 2013. The commissioning of the bridges will open the gateway of development to the western parts of the district, he said.