Curbs on visitors to be imposed in Secretariat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is bad news for the people who throng the corridors of power. The UDF Government has finally decided to impose restrictions on visitors to the nerve centre of governance, the Government Secretariat.  The decision came following a police report which stated that the uncontrolled crowd seen on the corridors of the Secretariat ever since the UDF Government came to power, was causing serious security concerns. ‘’The police report had pointed out the security concerns. They had demanded that the restrictions on visitors inside the Secretariat, which the previous government had imposed, should be put in place again,’’ Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told ‘Express.’  Not just the Secretariat, the police report raised serious concern about the crowding of people inside the Chief Minister’s Office. The police have urged the Chief Minister to urgently impose restrictions on visitors inside his office as it was creating problems to the police personnel deployed there.  As a result, it has been decided to restrict the visiting time to the Chief Minister Office between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. everyday.     The restrictions on visitors inside the Secretariat and the CM’s Office were lifted soon after Chandy became the Chief Minister. Though there were a lot of complaints regarding the people’s presence causing nuisance in various departments and Ministers’ offices, the Chief Minister was hesitant to lift the restrictions.  With the police raising serious concern, the Chief Minister presented the issue before the Cabinet and sought the opinion of the Ministers. The decision to put in place the restrictions again has been taken after all Ministers agreed to this, the Chief Minister said.