Kochi, March 9 : Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his silence on the ongoing problem of smog that has engulfed the commercial capital of Kerala - Kochi -- for the past eight days. "During Covid time, we all saw how Vijayan used to give a daily class on how to tackle Covid, but now where has he disappeared when Kochi residents find it tough to even breathe. It's unfortunate that even the media is silent on Vijayan's absence," said Muraleedharan and asked, "if Vijayan wass hiding in the smoke". The Kochi Corporation has been unable to do anything substantial to control the toxic haze and smog due to a fire at the Brahmapuram garbage dump and waste plant location, even when fire tenders are working hard to douse the fire and control the smoke. The Kerala High Court has given an ultimatum to the authorities and has asked the government to submit an action plan on Friday. "The Minister for Local Self Government, M.B.Rajesh said things will be brought under control within two days when the fire broke out. Now, he is also not able to see the real reason. Why Kochi residents are suffering is because of handing over this waste treatment to a company that has no experience in handling this and their qualification was, it belonged to the son-in-law of veteran CPI(M) leader Vaikom Viswan," added Muraleedharan. The fire, which began last week at the waste plant at Brahmapuram, had led to a dip in air quality in the commercial capital of the state. Due to the huge smoke cover over several areas, the data on the Kerala Pollution Control Board website shows PM2.5 and PM10 particulate levels in the air in Kochi which is above the prescribed standards. The beleaguered residents have been asked to wear N-95 masks if they venture out, and schools have asked children in the lower classes to remain home. "None will forget how the youth wing of the CPI(M) and DYFI top leaders protested in Delhi a few years ago when a fire broke out in Amazon forests. The leaders, who protested then now occupy key positions but are surprisingly silent when Kochi residents are finding it difficult to breathe," slammed Muraleedharan. /IANS