Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

UDF walks out over shifting of sports school

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 13. The Opposition UDF staged a walkout from the City Corporation Council and boycotted the meeting to protest the Mayor's refusal to permit a discussion on the Government decision to shift the proposed site for the G. V. Raja Sports School from Mannanthala to Mylam.

Moving a resolution on the issue, the Works standing committee chairman, V. S. Padmakumar, alleged that the `arbitrary' Government decision to shift the school was triggered by vested interests. He said the previous LDF Government had identified the Mannanthala site for the sports school and earmarked an amount of Rs. 76 lakhs for its development. A project committee was constituted and the construction work was entrusted to Nirmithi Kendra. The LDF Government also offered to hand over a stadium and a swimming pool from the Ulloor panchayat, he explained.

Mr. Padmakumar said the successive UDF regimes had failed to follow up these decisions and had arbitrarily shifted the school to Mylam in Nedumangad taluk without taking the City Corporation into confidence. The resolution urged the Government to withdraw its decision and retain the school at Mannanthala.

As soon as the resolution was read out, the Mayor, J. Chandra, announced that it was adopted and passed on to the next item on the agenda. The UDF parliamentary party leader, K. Maheswaran Nair, who stood up to speak, was cut short by the Mayor's announcement. This infuriated the UDF councillors who demanded a discussion on the issue. The Mayor, however, justified her decision explaining that she had waited for a full minute before declaring the resolution as adopted.

The UDF members rose in protest, accusing the Mayor of throttling dissent. They walked into the well of the hall and tried to reason with the ruling front members, even as the Mayor called for the presentation of the next resolution. The UDF members staged a walkout and boycotted the rest of the proceedings. Later, talking to reporters, Mr. Maheswaran Nair alleged that, apart from public announcements, the LDF Government had done nothing for the development of the school.

The meeting appealed to the State Government and the Tourism department for assistance in implementing a Rs.110 crore project taken up by the Corporation to set up an amusement park and entertainment- cum- commercial complex at Muttathara. Moving an official resolution on the issue, the Mayor said the project covering 65 acres of land, would give a facelift to the Muttathara area and provide employment to hundreds of local residents. She said five acres would be set apart for rehabilitating the families displaced for the project.

The council adopted another official resolution approving the recommendation of the IT technical committee to award the supply of hardware for the Corporation's computerisation programme to a private company. The Mayor said the Information Kerala Mission, which was originally identified for the supply, had failed to submit its bid within the specified time.

The meeting urged the Government to exert pressure on the Centre to relax the Coastal Regulation Zone norms for the State. A resolution moved by the Karikkakam ward councillor, Ratheendran, said the Centre's decision to enforce the distance regulations for construction activities under the CRZ norms would have an adverse impact on the densely populated coastal areas of the city.

Another resolution moved by the Thiruvallam councillor, A. J. Sukarno, appealed to the Government to take up the proposed project to start a shipping service from Vizhinjam to Sri Lanka. Mr. Sukarno said the project announced by the Chief Minister had been put on the backburner following pressure from the shipping lobby in the Tuticorin port.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• UDF walks out over shifting of sports school
• Training of staff to get priority: Antony
• Move to offer power at cheaper rates hailed
• Steps to ease traffic snarls on Karamana-Killipalam stretch
• Campaign launched
• 21.35 lakh voters in district
• Stamp vendor robbed
• Corporation to develop boating park at Muttada
• Around The City
• In Thiruvananthapuram Today
• Loudspeaker misuse continues

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu