Kerala ministers' drivers wore no helmets; doc wants action

Kochi, Aug 22 : A neurosurgeon has written to the Kerala High Court chief justice, urging him to take action against two ministers as they were seen riding two-wheelers whose drivers were not wearing helmets.

T.K. Manoj, who works at a leading private hospital near here, has named Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran and Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran in his letter.

He complained to the chief justice after most newspapers published pictures of Sudhakaran and Ratnakaran riding motorcycles Wednesday. Education Minister M.A. Baby was also seen riding pillion on a two-wheeler whose driver was not wearing a helmet.

Manoj told IANS: "Wearing helmets certainly brings down the casualty rates in two wheeler accidents. Prior to the rule of helmets becoming compulsory, I used to see close to 150 to 200 cases of head injury. When the rule was enforced last year, the number of cases dropped to as low as 80.

"But now again, with police not being strict, the number of cases has gone up. So I decided to bring this to the attention of the chief justice," said Manoj.

On Wednesday, Left trade unions had called for a strike to protest the policies of the centre and there was a total shutdown in the state.

With most vehicles off the road, Ratnakaran arrived on a train at the Thiruvananthapuram railway station in the morning and from there rode pillion on a two-wheeler driven by his official driver who was not wearing a helmet.

Manoj told IANS that he has written to the chief justice with a picture of Ratnakaran and his driver without a helmet.

He also pointed out that members of a club in Thiruvananthapuram who conducted a huge two-wheeler rally Aug 15 carrying the Indian tricolour were without helmets.