A group of Youth Congress activists organized a protest march outside the official residence of Kerala’s Health Minister Veena George in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, calling for her resignation following the building collapse at Kottayam Medical College.

The police employed water cannons to disperse the Youth Congress workers and took several into custody.

This incident follows the collapse of a building block at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam, which resulted in one fatality and injuries to two others on July 3. On Friday, members of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) youth wing also conducted a protest march outside the residence of the Kerala Health Minister in Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, BJP workers held a demonstration on Friday, demanding Minister George’s resignation regarding the incident.

VN Vasavan, the Minister for Ports, Cooperation, and Devaswoms, referred to the Kottayam Medical College building collapse as an ‘unfortunate’ event and announced that the Kerala government would provide immediate financial aid of Rs 50,000 to the affected family.

He stated, “The Chief Minister visited the site yesterday. Rs 50,000 will be given as immediate assistance to the family. The State Cabinet will discuss and determine further financial support for the family. Kottayam Medical College is among the top-performing hospitals in India. This incident is regrettable.” He also emphasized that there was no negligence on the part of the government, adding, “We did not request to halt the rescue operation; it was necessary to clear the way for the Hitachi excavator. The rescue could only be conducted with the aid of machinery.

” “The health minister mentioned yesterday that no one was trapped there because the hospital superintendent informed her that the building was not in use,” he continued. Shifting responsibility to the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government, he remarked, “In 2013, the Public Works Department (PWD) submitted a report regarding the building’s condition. The UDF government failed to take action on it.”