Oommen Chandy sanctions Rs 2.34 cr assistance at mass contact programme

Kozhikode: In a marathon 13-hour sitting, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy sanctioned Rs 2.34 crore as assistance to petitions received from people at his District Mass Contact Programme in Kozhikode, which ended in the wee hours of today.

Of the amount sanctioned, Rs 54.63 lakh was disbursed at the venue of the programme which concluded at 1 AM, an official release said.

Some 22,591 petitions were received of which 12,526 were received by Mr Chandy yesterday alone, while 10,065 petitions were received before the start of the programme which was held amid tight security.

Mr Chandy said people's problems could be solved only through joint functioning of the Government, people's representatives and officials.

Kozhikode district administration had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the programme.

There was tight security in and around the venue with over 2100 policemen engaged for duty.

The opposition-Left Democratic Front had organised a black flag protest march, demanding resignation of the Chief Minister over the solar panel scam.