Kerala, renowned for its public distribution system (PDS) is now competing with states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra , Karnataka etc in terms of number of starvation deaths. So far 12 persons have died due to starvation and scarcity of food.

The tribal hilly areas of the state are facing a serious shortage of food. Adivasis living in these areas are suffering from hunger and starvation. They subsist on roots and stems collected from the wild forests resulting in dysentery and consequent deaths.

A UDF minister has been audacious enough to mock at the dying populace of the Wynad area of this state saying that the deaths are the result of their drinking polluted water, polluted from human excreta and drinking of local, cheap arracks. It is repulsive to say the least that a minister charging people dying due to hunger, of eating human excreta and drinking arrack. Scarcity, hunger and starvation resulting from unemployment are the stark reasons for the recent deaths in the area. Anybody visiting the area will find this truth. The policy of globalisation has hit the Adivasis in this manner. There is no work in the estates consequent on the abysmal fall in prices of native products. Many adivasis go to Karnataka in search of employment.

The CPI(M) Kerala state committee secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and secretariat member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan visited the Adivasi colonies in company with P.A.Muhammed, CPI(M) Wynad district committee secretary. The people of the colonies complained to the leaders that the government pays little attention to them.

The party leaders have promised the adivasis to take positive steps to ameliorate their pathetic condition. Pinayari Vijayan has demanded the government to provide free ration in the adivasi colonies at least for one month. He also called upon the party workers to work for gathering food and medicine for the adivasis. The hospitals of the area are without any medicine. The doctors are not sufficient in number. He promised to send a team of doctors to the colonies. He said that CPI(M) does not like to politicize a severe adivasi starvation issue. It is an issue pertaining to the whole state. At the same time he questioned the much publicised statement of the minister for SC/ST Dr. M A Kuttappan that the adivasis die of drinking excreta polluted water and arrack . He said this is beyond commonsense and it is upto the chief minister to ask the minister to clarify the statement. The problem in Wynad and other Adivasi settlement is that the original people of the forests die in the forests for want of food and medicines.

Following the footsteps of the reform implementing states, the Kerala government also has decided to cut short the number of employees in consonance with the recommendations of the Finance Commission. As a prelude to this it has ordered redistribution of the "excess number of employees" in each department of the state. This order is applicable to both the government and public sector undertakings. The progress or otherwise of the work should be reported on the 15th of every month. The modus operandi suggested by the Finance Commission for the reduction of employees consists of the following steps:

• No new posts should be created.
• Fill in only one vacancy when three employees retire from service.
• Retrench 25% of employees between the age of 52 and 55 every year under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme.
• Contract labor should be encouraged.

In spite of repeated central intervention, the last LDF government of Kerala had decided not to implement these proposals. But the UDF immediately after assuming power, has unleashed its energies on cutting employment.

The predictions made by this paper regarding the UDF government of Kerala are becoming true to their last letter. We had said that the UDF would resort to a policy of further burdens upon the people of Kerala. We had warned the people before the election that the UDF style of governance has been notorious for its anti-people, pro-rich policies.

Immediately after assuming power the UDF had declared that it would rule in its own way as it had the mandate of the people. The notorious white paper released by them had painted the Kerala economy as one of the worst in the country. That all these gimmicks were an alibi to implement their privatisation and anti-people policies was proved abundantly in their first budget. This revised budget has invited several strikes in the state in the short span in which they were in power. The trading community went on a struggle against the increase of turn over tax. It may be remembered that The Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithy (The liaison committee of the traders and industrialists) that called for the said strike had helped the UDF to gain power in the last election. An ardent supporter of the UDF, the organization is now forced to go on strike against the UDF policies against the traders and the people. On August 4th also the state of Kerala witnessed an unprecedented strike. The computer service personnel through out the state launched this strike. The tall claims of the UDF that it patronises and encourages the IT industry have fallen to the grounds as mere dust. The LDF budget had proposals for reducing the prices of the computer components while the UDF budget perpendicularly increased them. The IT people are afraid that, if the UDF goes on with this policy against the aspirations of the young people who seek a livelihood and who spend their talents in the field of IT, their future will be in danger. Hence the strike by them.

True to its white paper the UDF government of Kerala has increased the electricity charges steeply. The increase is 25 per cent and it imposes a burden of Rs. 700 crore on the people of the state. Why an increase became necessary is beyond the comprehension of anybody. Of course, there had been hike in electricity prices earlier too. But every such hike had its own logic. The general logic should be that the government should have done some thing, taken some measures to improve the power situation of the state, as a result of which the state incurred heavy burden. The last LDF government had taken many a step in this direction and had increased the power production hugely. But the UDF government has not taken any measure in this direction. Without doing that, it has increased the prices of the power. It has also decided to create an Electricity Regulatory Authority, which will now take decisions regarding the fixing of power tariff in the state. This is nothing but implementation of the blue print of World Bank. The power of the government to fix and collect power charges is being robbed of by the UDF and given to some mysterious Authority that stands as sword of Damocles upon the people’s heads in the form of price rice. It is funny that the government will not be able to question or alter the decisions of the said Authority after it is installed in office. Thus it becomes the beginning of privatisation of the power sector in Kerala. Besides this, the government of Kerala under the UDF has decided to sign an understanding with the central government regarding the privatisation of the power sector.

This increase in power tariff will lead to an increase in the prices of baby food, hotel food, stationery materials and a host of other things. The industries will suffer and many of them will breathe their last under the pressure of the unbearable power charges. Small-scale industries will have to shut their doors. The Electricity Board will increase its revenue by Rs. 600 crore while the government will increase its revenue by Rs. 60 crore by way of duty over the increased power prices.

The industries such as rice mills, flourmills, welding plants etc, like wise the hotels and other food producing establishments will have to transfer the burden of the hike upon the shoulders of the people. The increase in power charges hit mostly the small-scale industrial sector of the state. About one-lakh small-scale units of industry are under the threat of closure. The increase upon this sector is about RS 2/- per unit! For industries using upto one hundred units of power the price is increased from Rs. 4.50 per unit to Rs. 5.60 For industries using 500 units the price is hiked from Rs. 6 to Rs. 7.50. And for those consuming more than 500 units the hike is to Rs. 8.25 from Rs. 6.80

The true extent of the sufferings of the over burden will be clear only when the details are worked out by the KSEB. After the implementation of the present hike, it will put an end to the spot billing system by which the people need pay only the prices of the power they actually consumed. The spot billing system has been one of the glowing achievements of the LDF Govt. It is also going to increase the bus fare. Clearly one thing is beyond doubt. Citing the mandate of the people the UDF has begun to rule in its own way by inflicting insufferable miseries upon the people of Kerala.