KOCHI: In a bid to speed up the Metro work on the Kaloor-Deshabhimani, the Revenue department started evicting the occupants on Wednesday.
A team led by Kochi Metro LA deputy collector Shobhanakumari issued direction to remove the front portion of all the shops on the Kaloor-Deshabhimani stretch. The Revenue department has given direction to as many as 65 occupants to surrender the space for metro construction.“Out of 65 occupants, 57 come under the shop category and the remaining places are puramboke and government land. The eviction of all the shops has been started. We hope to complete the eviction within one week as many of them have requested 2-3 days time to relocate the items in the shops,” said Shobhanakumari. According to the Revenue department, 12 metres on either side will be evicted on the Kaloor-Deshabhimani stretch. It was after the joint inspection by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC), Kochi Metro Rail Ltd(KMRL) and the Revenue department officials that a decision to widen the road by four meters on either side by maintaining a total width of 12 metre on each side.
Though the original plan was to widen the road by 1.5 metre on either side, it was later changed to 4 metres to provide space for drains, cable ducts and two-lane roads along Metro Rail’s alignment.
Meanwhile, some of the shop owners argued that the eviction was carried out without prior notice and the department yet to distribute the compensation. “We cannot move our belongings within 24 or 48 hours as they have to be shifted to a safe place. Many of them have space to shift their belongings to a safer place. We need one or two weeks to vacate the shops,” an agitated shop owner told the deputy collector.
“We had informed the deadline to all the holders for a month ahead while receiving the consent note from the owners. However, we have given one more week for shifting the materials,” Shobhana said refuting the allegations.