Blocking of boat carrying Nobel laureate Levitt an isolated incident: Kerala tourism minister

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Wednesday condemned the supporters of Bharat Bandh who had blocked the boat of visiting Nobel laureate Michael Levitt in Alappuzha and assured strict action against those responsible for the incident.

"He (Levitt) reached the state as a state guest. This is an isolated incident and I condemn it. I suspect that some anti-social elements who posed as supporters of the behind are behind this. I will examine if there was a security lapse. Police have started a probe and strict action will be taken against those responsible," said Surendran.

Levitt, who had arrived in Kerala as a government guest was stranded in a houseboat after supporters of Bharat Bandh blocked the boat in Kuttanad in Alappuzha today.

Sreekumar, owner of the houseboat Lake View, in which Levitt and his wife travelled told that he had commenced his journey from Kumarakom in Kottayam district on Tuesday evening.

"This morning, the boat was was blocked by supporters of the strike in Alappuzha at around 10:30 am and the boat could continue its journey only by 12 noon," he said.

The boat owner said that Levitt was very upset after the incident and did not even speak with the boat crew after it.

Levitt received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel, for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.

( With inputs from ANI )