Report on methods to tide over Covid crises released

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s initiatives to overcome the hurdles caused by the pandemic lack farsightedness and sense of direction, claims the report released by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies (RGIDS) at Indira Bhavan by Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala to KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran on Saturday. The committee recommended that short and long-term schemes should be implemented by the state government to tide over the crises the various sectors have been facing following Covid -19.

The report gives due credit to the state government in its battle to combat the pandemic during the first phase. But during the fag end of May, the number of Covid -19 tests were reduced which did not help the state or the people either. The promised institutional quarantine facility by the state government also went haywire. The 55-day lockdown from March 24 to May 17 also affected the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). The report was prepared by economist Dr B A Prakash and other leading economists.