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Shops and other structures on Fort Kochi beach demolished

Staff Reporter

Cleared land to be handed over to Tourism Department

CLEARING THE BEACH: Shops and other structures being demolished in Fort Kochi on Tuesday. — Photo: Mahesh Harilal

KOCHI: Sijil was hoping that the court would stay the demolition of his fish stall at Vasco da Gama Square in Fort Kochi. So was Sayed who claimed that his tea stall was 26 years old.

These were some of the structures that escaped demolition during previous drives to clear the area of encroachments for beautifying the Fort Kochi beach.

But on Tuesday, the authorities concerned demolished all such structures from the square to the Junkhar Jetty as the court order did not come as hoped by Mr. Sijil and Mr. Sayed. Only one shop, which has a case pending in the Kerala High Court, was left untouched.

The Revenue Divisional Officer, Mini Antony, said a recommendation had been forwarded to the District Collector, who headed the Fort Kochi Heritage Conservation Society, for handing over the cleared land to the Department of Tourism.

According to the beautification plan, a walkway should connect the jetty to the new food courts. This walkway was not completed because of encroachments. Steps would be taken to complete the walkway and prevent the encroachers from returning, Ms. Antony said.

The plan also envisaged prevention of constructions in the area to provide for an unobstructed view of the beach. The only structures should be the food courts.

A rest room for taxi drivers, a tourism information centre, five big fish stalls, 10 smaller ones and six shop rooms were those removed. The work began at 8.30 a.m. and went on till 3.30 p.m.

Police presence

A large posse of policemen had been positioned at the square to prevent resistance from their owners. "A couple of them tried to ward off demolition, citing an advocate's notice, but since it was not an order from the court, we proceeded with the work," said Ratheesh Krishnan, Circle Inspector, Fort Kochi.

The Department of Tourism has requested continuous police presence in the area for two weeks or more. Also, the offices of the department should be given protection as it was expecting protests from those who were evicted, said V.A. Aurangazeb, Regional Joint Director of the department.

The next phase of beautification work may prove hard for the authorities. Those evicted earlier from the area are to be given preference while allotting kiosks at the food court. Those evicted on Tuesday will not figure in that list.

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