Nipah: Govt to reimburse civil supplies dept over Rs 2L

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government, which had ensured supply of provisions to over 2,500 families who were isolated during the Nipah outbreak in 2018, will reimburse the expenses incurred by the Kerala state civil supplies corporation from chief minister’s distress relief fund (CMDRF).
When health department prepared the contact list and recommended isolation of those families to prevent the spread of virus following deaths, the government had to ensure supply of basic provisions to members of these families until Kozhikode and Malappuram were declared Nipah-free.
The government decided to reimburse the expenses based on the request submitted by Kozhikode district collector. An amount of Rs 2.28 lakh will be reimbursed from the relief fund.
“Since the disease had no treatment, we had to isolate the families in the contact list and contain the spread of virus. They were being monitored and their whereabouts were always checked. At the same time, we had to take care of them since they were completely cut off and were quarantined. We had a duty to protect the families who were isolated and at the same time we had to make sure that no new cases emerged. We handed over the list to local bodies and various departments coordinated effectively,” said U V Jose, who was then the district collector of Kozhikode. He said that except for two-three panchayats, the families in the contact list were scattered all over the district and it was a great challenge to distribute food kits. A mapping was also done to execute the task, he said.
Free food kits were distributed to 2,400 families in Kozhikode and 150 families in Malappuram. Manoj Kumar, the then district supply officer of Kozhikode, said that it was a new and challenging experience. “When we were asked to coordinate the task, we prepared the list of items to be included in the kit for each family based on the list we received from the health department. The number of members in families varied and the quantity of items had to be planned accordingly. The list we prepared was readily approved by the state government,” said Kumar.
Once food kits reached the Supplyco outlets in various panchayats, where the families in the contact list resided, it was up to the local bodies to take up distribution, a task which was difficult given the scare the disease generated, especially at Changaroth panchayat where the virus had claimed its first victim. By July 2018, both districts were declared free of virus infection.