Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

Move to demolish court building comes under fire

By Our Staff Reporter

UDHAGAMANDALAM, SEPT. 13. Various organisations in the Nilgiris expressed concern over the move to demolish the court building here.

At a meeting organised under the aegis of the INTACH, the Nilgiris chapter, here on Sunday, the district convenor, INTACH, Geetha Srinivasan, said that the move to raze the decades-old landmark structure and put up another multi-storeyed building in its place, could not be justified. The way out was to improve the existing infrastructure.

"However while doing this, the need to preserve the heritage of the place should be kept in mind," she said.

The fact that the advocates found it inconvenient to travel a few kilometres could not be a justification to pull down heritage buildings, she said and added that a few years ago the government had identified a plot a few kilometres away from the present location to build a court complex.

Though work began at the site, it was shelved due to objection from the legal fraternity, which contended that it was inconvenient to lawyers and litigants. Pointing out that no one had the right to waste the taxpayers' money, Ms. Srinivasan said that the lawyers should be ready for a public debate in an appropriate forum.

Collective failure

The steady destruction of the eco system of the Nilgiris "is a mute testimony to the collective failure of the district and state administration, commercial establishments and the citizens", she said.

The president, Coonoor Citizens Forum, M.P.G. Nambisan, regretted that the government itself was spoiling the beauty of the Nilgiris.

On October 2, the forum would organise a fast in protest against the move to demolish the court building. The Centre should be made aware of the proposal to pull down the structure. The president, Citizens Forum of Ootacamund, K. Gopal, said that the forum would not remain a silent spectator.

`Proposal unwise'

Yasmin Kothavala of the Kotagiri Citizens Forum said that replacing attractive old buildings with concrete structures would be most unwise as it would do considerable harm to the cause of tourism in the long run.

Environmentalist Tarun Chhabra, T. Ravi of the Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association, the secretary of the Rotary Club of Ootacamund, Senthilnathan Siva, and the president, Rotary Club of Ketti Valley, Shabin Sarvotham, were among those who spoke.

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

Tamil Nadu

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

Stories in this Section

• Move to demolish court building comes under fire

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