Daijiworld Media Network - Alappuzha
Alappuzha, Jul 18: Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan on Saturday announced that the state government will introduce Community Kitchens in government hospitals to streamline the distribution of free meals to patients and their attendants while ensuring greater transparency and keeping the process free from political branding.
The initiative will be launched on a pilot basis at Alappuzha Medical College before being considered for expansion to other government hospitals.
Announcing the decision, Muraleedharan said food packets would no longer be distributed inside hospital premises under the banners or flags of political parties or organisations. Instead, all voluntary contributions of meals would be routed through a centrally managed Community Kitchen system.
The announcement follows recent remarks by veteran leader and former Kerala minister G. Sudhakaran, who had questioned the existing food distribution mechanism at Alappuzha Medical College.
Sudhakaran, a former CPI(M) leader who later contested the Assembly election as an Independent with the support of the Congress-led UDF, clarified that he had never opposed providing free meals to patients or their caregivers.
He said his concern was specific to the arrangement at Alappuzha Medical College, where food was being prepared and distributed from a shed inside the hospital campus, a practice he claimed was not followed at other government medical colleges in the state.
According to Sudhakaran, meals at other hospitals are generally prepared outside the campus and then brought in for distribution.
He also called for greater financial transparency, suggesting that organisations collecting public donations for the programme should present their accounts before the Hospital Development Committee to ensure proper oversight.
The former minister further argued that the government should consider reviving the free meal scheme that had previously operated in public hospitals instead of relying entirely on voluntary organisations.
Sudhakaran also maintained that hospitals should remain free from political competition and should not become venues for organisations to display banners and flags while carrying out charitable activities.
He said his comments had been misrepresented on social media, insisting that his intention was to improve accountability rather than oppose charitable food distribution.
Political observers believe the Health Minister's latest announcement reflects many of the concerns raised by Sudhakaran and could significantly change the existing system of volunteer-led meal distribution.
The proposed Community Kitchen model is also expected to replace politically affiliated food distribution initiatives, including the DYFI's 'Pothichoru' programme, with an institutionally managed and politically neutral mechanism aimed at ensuring equal access and transparency for all beneficiaries.