Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005
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Thiruvananthapuram
By Our Staff Reporter
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 8. Speakers at a convention demanding the development of the capital city into a metro, today flayed the Government move to hive off three panchayats from the Corporation. Inaugurating the meeting, the Leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan, accused the UDF Government of torpedoing the development of the city. Terming the delinking move as an assault on the city's prestige, he alleged that it was part of a political conspiracy hatched by the Congress in a bid to capture the City Corporation in the next elections. Mr. Achuthanandan said the UDF was guilty of turning a blind eye to the development needs of the city. "The development of the international airport is progressing at a snail's pace. Uncontrolled sand-mining is posing a threat to the Vellayani freshwater lake while tourist resort developers are encroaching on the Kovalam beach as the Government looks the other way," he said.
No skyscrapers
Mr. Achuthanandan urged the Government to drop the delinking proposal. The noted poet, O. N. V. Kurup, advocated a Greater Thiruvananthapuram concept for the growth of the city. "The development of other cities in the State should not be at the expense of the capital. Development does not mean skyscrapers and luxury hotels; it should also strive to preserve the treasured identity of the city." Mr. Kurup said the delinking move was part of a hidden agenda aimed at sabotaging the development of the city and undermining its status. Terming the delinking move as unconstitutional and politically motivated, the former Chief Secretary, D. Babu Paul, urged the Government to attach the suburban areas and develop the capital region into a modern megapolis stretching across an arc from Attingal in the North to Nedumangad in the East and Neyyatinkara in the West.
Cutting avenue trees
The poetess, B. Sugathakumari, appealed to the Government to expand the city instead of reducing the geographical area. Expressing outrage over the proposal to cut down the avenue trees to widen the Museum- Kowdiar road, she said it would elicit a strong opposition from the public. She urged the Government to preserve open spaces, green lungs and water resources while carrying out development projects. The Mayor, J. Chandra, who presided over the convention said the delinking move would undo all the development works taken up by the City Corporation in the new wards. The RSP state secretary, T. J. Chandrachudan, noted educationist, N. A. Karim, K. P. Rajendran, MLA, the Deputy Mayor, M. Sujanapriyan, the CPI(M) district secretary, M. Vijayakumar, the former Mayor, V. Sivankutty, and the general secretary of the Federation of Residents Associations, Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT), Sasidharan Nair, were among those who addressed the gathering.
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