The State government will draw up plans for a permanent solution to the recurrence of fire accidents at the Sweet Meat Street (S.M. Street) in the city, Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson has said.
Briefing newspersons after an interface with Revenue Department officials of the Kozhikode and Wayanad districts here at the Collectorate here, Mr. Thomson said the situation warranted immediate attention. Modern techniques will be used for renovating the street. This issue will be discussed with the Minister for Urban Affairs in Thiruvanthapuram. The traders should also insure their establishments, he said.
The meeting was participated by District Collector N. Prasanth and Wayanad Collector Keshvendra Kumar, Deputy Collectors, and tasildhars of these two districts.
Earlier, Mr. Thomson also visited the area where the fire broke out at the S.M. Street on Wednesday night. He found that majority of the shops failed to maintain a fire hydrant. The municipal authorities should look into this, he said.
The Cabinet, at its next meeting, will look into rehabilitating the victims. The relief package is the discretion of the Chief Minister, Mr. Thompson said, in reply to a question on distributing relief from the State Exchequer every time a fire occurred at the S.M. Street. He also said he did not want to comment whether the incident had been sabotage. The Chief Secretary said the Operation Anantha, aimed at demolition of illegal structures and removing encroachments, would be expanded to other districts including Kozhikode and Wayanad.
The drive had been largely successful in Thiruvanthapuram. As part of it, all hoardings on the National Highway in the State will be removed. The Kerala High Court has already issued directives in this regard.
The district administration had been asked to make a list of illegal structures and encroachments. However, he clarified that Operation Anantha “is not an encroachment eviction drive, but precautionary measures to be taken against disaster. Our priority is to prevent flooding. In two weeks, this will be implemented,” the Chief Secretary said.
