KOCHI: Members of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Thrikkakara municipal council took out a protest march on Thursday demanding that the council drop its plans to lease out a floor of the three-storey garden library building near the Cooperative Hospital to the Crime Branch.
Congress (I) councillor P.M. Salim alleged that the ruling LDF council led by chairperson K.K. Neenu had not put up the move to lease the second floor of the new library building for the council’s approval. Meanwhile, UDF councillors took out a march to the library demanding that the move be dropped, and that the attempt to frame false police cases against UDF councillors be immediately stopped.
Mr. Salim said the library, which was built during the tenure of the previous UDF-led council, was meant to be the State’s first digital library. “The entire building, spanning around 1,800 sq.ft. per floor, should be dedicated to a proper library,” he added.
A library sponsored by the municipality now operates out of the Thrikkakara Municipal Cooperative Hospital. There has been a plan to shift the facility to the new building. Incidentally, the new building could not be officially inaugurated during the tenure of the UDF council between 2010 and 2015.
Meanwhile, municipal chairperson Ms. Neenu said the move to lease out one of the floors of the new building to the Crime Branch was about to be put up before the council when Congress (I) activists barged into the council room. She said the decision to lease out the area would be withdrawn and might not be passed by the council. “Only the council decision will be implemented. The municipal authority is providing space for the Crime Branch office at the NGO quarters, and the facility will be ready in two months. The police wing had sought space to set up a temporary office for two months at the top floor of the new library building,” the chairperson added.
