The construction of the new flat complex for fishermen families at QSS colony, Pallithottam will start within a month, Fisheries Minister J.Mercykutty Amma has said.
The derelict buildings at the colony will be completely demolished before starting construction and the tender proceedings for the same have been completed.
Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation and Kollam Corporation have signed the agreement and KSCADC will be in charge of the works, functioning as the nodal agency for the project.
Residents living in the 35-year-old flats had been facing many issues since many building were in a dilapidated stage.
Leaking roofs
Roofs were leaking and parts were falling off, causing a threat to the lives of residents. Fisheries Department had sanctioned ₹11.4 crore and Kollam Corporation had set aside ₹6.5 crore for the project.
The colony currently has a total of 179 families including 114 fishermen and 65 others working in allied sectors. Kollam Corporation and Fisheries Department will hand over the fund to KSCADC for construction.
Though the project was announced much earlier, the authorities could evacuate all the residents of the colony only recently.
Majority of the families had shifted to rented houses or shanties near the beach around January following instruction from the officials. The construction was expected to start in February and over 50 families have been living in makeshift shelters and other arrangements that lack basic facilities since then.
According to officials, the flat complex will be similar to Partheeksha, the project at Muttathara, Thiruvananthapuram, that was handed over to fishermen families in 2018.
The construction of Pratheeksha had started in 2017 and the project was completed ahead of schedule.
In Pallithottam each flat will be 450 sq ft and since it's modelled on the Muttathara complex there will be a set of two-storied blocks having eight flats each.
All the flats will have two bedrooms, kitchen and toilet facilities.
₹10 lakh cost
The cost for each flat will be ₹10 lakh.
