Former MP T Govindan passes away

KASARGOD: T Govindan, former MP who represented Kasargod constituency in the Lok Sabha thrice and a member of the CPM state committee, died at a private hospital  in Mangalore on Sunday.Govindan, 71, admitted to the Yenapoya Medical College Hospital in Mangalore died of cardiac arrest. He is survived by wife Savithri, three sons and a daughter.Born in Payyannur on January 1, 1940, he represented the Kasargod Lok Sabha seat consecutively from 1996 to 2004.Son of Raman Panicker, a poorakkali maestro, and Chemmarathi, he joined the undivided Communist Party in 1963 and joined the CPM in 1964 after the party split.  He was the secretary of the Kannur district committee of the CPM during  1989-90. Govindan, who led a simple life initiated various development programmes in the constituency. As a member of the Lok Sabha, he took the initiate for railway flyovers in Kannur and Kasargod districts. He was also instrumental in providing basic facilities for education institutions. He held various posts in several parliamentary committees. He was the member of the Urban and Rural Development committee of the Lok Sabha. He was the whip of  the CPM in the 12th Lok Sabha. In 1998-99, he was the member of the committee on communication for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He had also served as the chairman of the Kannur Spin ning Mill and also vice- chairman of the Khadi Board.His body was brought to Payyannur, his native place, in the evening where people from all walks of life offered condolence. Pinarayi Mourns TGPinarayi Vijayan said that the death of T Govindan was a great loss to the party and to the public. He was a good parliamentarian. He had promoted art and culture and was involved actively in the revival of art forms like the ‘poorakkalli’, Pinarayi said.DYFI district president Subash Chandra Bose presided over the meet. MPs M B Rajesh and P K Biju, CITU leader A Prabhakaran and Rasheed Kanicherry accompanied Pinarayi to the house of Raghu.