KOCHI: It seems that the Fort Kochi Bus Stand will remain out of the reach of the public for the time being, as a controversy about the land ownership fails to settle down.
About two months ago, the Kochi Corporation got embroiled in a dispute with a resident living near the site for the bus stand, who claimed that the Corporation was encroaching upon his land.
However, the Corporation has not made any attempts to prove its ownership over the land.
The dispute came to light only when the resident started constructing a wall inside the bus stand about a couple of months back.
The construction activity was stopped as per the directions of the RDO.
Even as the Corporation claimed absolute ownership over the land, it has not yet produced any documents to prove it.
The Fort Kochi RDO on Tuesday said that a letter had already been sent to the Corporation Secretary asking the local body to conduct a survey of the land and ensure whether it owned the land or not.
But, Corporation Secretary Patil Ajit Bhagwatrao expressed ignorance about receiving any such letter.
Other officials in the Corporation, too, were not able to confirm the receipt of the letter sent by the RDO.
The bus stand inaugurated by the last Mayor ahead of the local bodies election last year, has not received official approval to operate due to lack of facilities. It is amidst this that the new controversy cropped up.