In a significant development on Sunday, Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan clarified the government’s stance on the distribution of food packets (pothichoru) in hospitals, effectively softening his earlier directive that had sparked a major controversy.
Photo: ANI screengrab
In a significant development on Sunday, Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan clarified the government’s stance on the distribution of food packets (pothichoru) in hospitals, effectively softening his earlier directive that had sparked a major controversy.
Muraleedharan said his previous remarks, which were widely interpreted as a blanket ban on voluntary organisations distributing food, were specifically aimed at addressing the issue of land encroachment at Alappuzha Medical College and were not intended as a general prohibition on feeding patients.
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He clarified that the government has no intention of preventing organisations from providing free meals (pothichoru) to patients and their bystanders. The minister emphasised that the objection was strictly to the unauthorised occupation of government land, not to the humanitarian act of food distribution itself.
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The clarification came a day after the minister announced a strict policy banning political and voluntary organisations—specifically naming the DYFI, Youth Congress, and Seva Bharati—from distributing food inside hospital premises under their own flags and banners.
On Sunday morning, he reiterated his opposition to the distribution of free food (pothichoru) by political organisations inside government hospitals.
The minister had initially declared that government hospitals “are not venues to display political or organisational flags” and proposed that all food distribution be routed through government-run community kitchens to ensure a non-political and standardised system.
He said the community kitchen model would first be introduced at Alappuzha Medical College and later expanded to other government hospitals after consultations with voluntary organisations.
The decision followed criticism from rebel CPI(M) leader and Ambalapuzha MLA G. Sudhakaran, who opposed organisations using promotional banners and flags during hospital food distribution drives.
The health minister’s statement drew sharp reactions from various quarters, particularly the DYFI, which has been running a large free food distribution network at medical colleges for years. DYFI state president V. Vaseef said the organisation would continue its distribution drive until a formal government order was issued, arguing that it had stepped in to fill a gap left by the authorities.
Former minister and CPI(M) leader P.A. Mohammed Riyas also urged the health minister to set aside his ego over the distribution of food packets.
The BJP has also voiced strong objections to the directives issued by Health Minister K. Muraleedharan. Party leader K. Surendran criticised the government’s policy restricting voluntary organisations from distributing food in hospitals.
“If all those who accepted the pothichoru had voted for the people who gave it, many individuals, including K. Muraleedharan, would never have entered the Assembly,” K. Surendran said in a Facebook post.
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