Trade unions and social organisations have come out against the leasing out of Bolgatty land and reclamation of Kochi backwaters.
Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishath called for the cancellation of the lease deed and demanded that the reclaimed land should be restored as backwaters.
The Cochin Port Trust had restored over 300 hectares since 1980. It was the efforts of the Parishath that helped in reducing the land to be reclaimed for the Goshree bridges to 25 hectares from the earlier proposed 250 hectares, said a joint statement issued by Parishath president N.K. Sasidharan Pillai and Secretary V.V. Sreenivasan.
The leasing out of 26 acres, which was reclaimed for port-related activity, for commercial activities was ecologically unacceptable. Action should be taken against the port officials for reclaiming land not necessary for port-related activities. The lease deed signed between the port trust and the industrialist should be cancelled and the land should be left to be restored as part of the Kochi backwaters, they demanded.
It can only be through restoration of such illegally reclaimed land and proceeding against erring officials that such trends can be reversed, they said.
Trade union demand
Trade Union Coordination Committee, an umbrella organisation of trade unions associated with Cochin Port Trust, urged the port trust to withdraw reclamation from Kochi backwaters for non-port activities.
A meeting of the committee, held on Saturday, has decided to launch port-employment protection convention at Kochi on June 25. The wrong policies and the inefficiency of the Port Trust management should be blamed for the crisis faced by the CPT.
The port was also heading for huge financial crisis, said a statement issued by P.S. Ashik, chairman and Charles George, general convener.
