Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Clamour for HC Bench in city

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The demand for a High Court Bench in Thiruvananthapuram is fast snowballing into a mass movement, with various organisations planning agitations to exert pressure on the government for action.

The Trivandrum Residents Apex Council (TRAC) has announced a hunger strike in front of the Secretariat on Monday to highlight the need.

TRAC president Amaravila Ramakrishnan Nair and secretary K.T. Roy said the government could no longer turn a deaf ear to the 50-year-old demand.

They pointed out that the Bench had failed to materialise despite a resolution adopted unanimously by the Assembly in 2004. They said the report of the Chief Justice turning down the demand was unfortunate.

TRAC alleged that the failure to set up the Bench indicated the presence of a well-entrenched lobby working against the development of the capital. Chirayinkeezh MP Varkala Radhakrishnan is scheduled to inaugurate the hunger strike in front of the Secretariat on Monday.

The District Congress Committee has also announced a dharna in front of the Secretariat, demanding a High Court Bench.

The DCC, which met here on Saturday, urged the government to make sincere efforts to get the Bench established in the capital. The meeting said Thiruvananthapuram was the only capital city without a High Court or High Court Bench. “The absence of such a facility is retarding the development of the city. The State Government should join hands with MPs from the State to exert pressure on the Centre,” activists demanded.

DCC president V.S. Sivakumar said Congress workers from all over the district would participate in the dharna on January 25.

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