KOZHIKODE: Traders on MM Ali Road here, who received inquiry notices from the Kerala Waqf Board, are planning to stage an agitation against the move, which they believe is to evict them from the building. Notices have been sent to 10 establishments near Palayam market, a key location in the city. The traders who received notices have been running shops in the area for over 40 years.
Notices were sent to the traders asking them to submit their version of land ownership in writing with supporting documents and send them to the Waqf Board by email or post before June 24, 2024. But the traders waited for a favourable decision from authorities at that time. They decided to launch agitations against the waqf claim after the controversies over the Munambam land erupted.
"The shop space was taken on lease by my father from an individual called Moosa Haji in 1987. The building is situated on seven cents of land on MM Ali Road opposite Hotel Anhar. Later, we heard that the land was sold or handed over to an orphanage. After that we were paying rent to the orphanage," said P Kabeer, owner of the P Kabeer Travels which functions in the building. "In 2023, the orphanage authorities came with a demand to demolish and construct a new building. We agreed to the suggestion. But we suddenly received a notice from the Waqf Board in June demanding that we vacate the building," he added.
The traders are paying around `4,500 per month as rent to the orphanage. In the notice, Waqf Board said the building is owned by Panakkad Pookoya Thangal Memorial Yatheemkhana at Tirurangadi in Malappuram district and the property is registered as waqf with the board with the register number 6588/RA.
According to the notice, the Waqf Board said the inquiry was on the basis of a complaint filed by the mutawalli (local custodian of the property) before the Malappuram office of the Board. "The traders are planning an agitation in front of the secretariat soon. In addition to the public protest, we are also mulling legal options," said Kabeer.