Heritage buildings demolished for Water Metro jetty

A row of three heritage buildings beside the Chinese fishing nets on the Fort Kochi beachfront, which had been relied upon by yesteryear mariners for functions together with storing of coal to energy their ships, had been demolished on Sunday to make manner for constructing the Water Metro’s boat jetty.

While officers of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), which is executing the venture, termed it an inevitable transfer, to make room for a distinguished boat jetty of the pioneering venture, critics led by author N.S. Madhavan in contrast it with the Babri Masjid demolition on one other December 6, three many years in the past.

“Another demolition on Babri day. Same subtext, wipe clean history. Centuries-old port office and karipura [coal shed] were demolished by Water Metro people. They aim to break the row [of] historic Chinese fishing nets at Fort Kochi, by inserting an ugly jetty. The Metro people will tell you that nothing will happen to Chinese nets. Yes, they are only destroying the view. Imagine putting a JCB in the middle of [a] row of elephants at Trissur Pooram,” learn his tweet.

Heritage fanatic and former Mayor K.J. Sohan in contrast the demolition of the three heritage buildings with the Taliban extremists blowing up Buddha statues within the Bamiyan valley. “The first building housed the then port office, another a gear shed where ships’ accessories were stored, and the third a coal shed [hence called Karippura] used to store coal meant to power ships that sailed from the Suez Canal to South East Asia. It was after this that an adjacent Chinese net was named ‘Karippura vala’. The Water Metro jetty will also affect a few historic Chinese nets nearby,” he stated.

Meanwhile, KMRL Managing Director Alkesh Kumar Sharma stated that the company had taken the land, together with the place the buildings stood, on lease from the Cochin Port Trust for a 60-year lease. “None of the buildings were notified as protected ones. Rather, they were in a dilapidated condition and were a hub for anti-social elements. We are under pressure from different quarters to complete the Water Metro project in a time-bound manner, and there was undue delay in acquiring land for the Fort Kochi terminal. The Water Metro’s Ernakulam-Fort Kochi route will be commissioned after the Vyttila-Kakkanad route. The dilapidated buildings had to be demolished for the larger purpose of housing a boat jetty,” he clarified.

Mr. Sharma stated that care had been taken to minimize the world of berthing house for ferries, and the jetty’s design was revised, to trigger least disturbance to Chinese nets. A examine performed by IIT-Madras says that the functioning of the nets is not going to be affected in any manner, since a sleeker design has been adopted. We have assured assist to web operators in case there’s a want. Moreover, care shall be taken to make sure the aesthetics of the jetty constructing, in order that it’s in sync with the environment, he added.

Former company city planning standing committee chairperson Shiny Mathew, who represented the division, stated that there was no different different land in Fort Kochi to find the jetty. “The region would have missed Water Metro connectivity had we opposed the location of the jetty building. We have insisted that the proposed building be similar to the heritage buildings that were pulled down. The corporation council had approved their demolition earlier this year. KMRL has further assured that it will help develop the walkway nearby and also install lights and benches,” she stated.