With the district administration determined to go ahead with the plan to relocate traders at Fashion Street temporarily to the Maharaja’s College ground ahead of cleaning the Mullassery canal, the confrontation between the college authorities on one side and the district administration and the Kochi Corporation on the other is threatening to intensify.
The objection raised by the college principal in a letter to District Collector Jafar Malik earlier this week seems to have had little effect.
Mr. Malik said the plan remained unchanged for multiple reasons, not the least that the cleaning of the Mullasserry canal is a High Court-monitored work with a clear deadline. “We will start temporary relocation at the earliest as the cleaning work will have to be launched by this month-end to complete it in the next three to four months as per the deadline. Besides, it is also in the interest of the college as flooding of the canal will leave the ground waterlogged. The Director of Collegiate Education has also agreed to the plan considering the involvement of the High Court,” he said.
A meeting attended by the Collector, the Mayor and the college authorities on December 4 had discussed the plan of temporary relocation of traders.
Mayor M. Anilkumar was scathing in his criticism of the college accusing it of hampering a project in the public interest despite having agreed to it in principle at the meeting. “We are talking about just three months and the space to be used for it doesn’t in any way interfere with the turf. The land in question probably was ‘discovered’ by the college authorities after it was cleaned up as it had gone under waste and shrubs up until now,” he said.
Incidentally, there is a dispute over the land between the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the college.
In her letter, Principal Mercy Joseph said the preparatory works were launched even before the minutes of the meeting was shared with the college and demanded that they be suspended immediately. “The plan for relocation of traders should be dropped till the relevant orders are issued by the government,” she said. The letter also drew attention to the fact that a meeting of the college council had unanimously opposed the move.
“In the past so many occasions, land belonging to the college was taken over temporarily only for that to become permanent. Besides, the land in question has been identified for a basketball court for which fund allocation is being awaited. Except for a synthetic track and a football turf, the college hardly has any sports facilities,” said Reena Joseph, head of the department of physical education at the college.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) has warned of strong protests against any attempt to take over the college land. “The land was being encroached upon by the authorities without consent,” said Amal Tomy, vice president of the KSU college unit.
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has adopted a more cautious approach rather than opposing the project outright. “There should be more clarity and the student community should also be taken into confidence,” said Akhil Pushpan, college unit secretary of the SFI.
