Latest news with #HarbourEngineeringDepartment
New Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Fishers to relaunch protest as snag delays dredging at Muthalapozhi
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Harbour Engineering Department failing to keep its promise to cut open the breakwater for the smooth sailing of fishing vessels at Muthalapozhi harbour, the fishermen are gearing up to relaunch their protest from Tuesday. Owing to accumulation of sand, the harbour mouth is on the verge of yet another closure. According to fishermen, if they fail to launch dredging activities immediately, the harbour mouth will be closed within the next two days. Chairman of Muthalapozhi Matsya Thozhilali Samithi, Sulaiman A, said that it's been nine days since the harbour engineering department brought the dredger from Azheekal. 'We withdrew our protest not because of their empty promises. Many houses and regions were under flood threat. We didn't expect this much delay in launching the dredging activities,' said Sulaiman. He said that the fishermen are on a warpath. 'They don't care about us or our livelihood and they are repeatedly fooling us. This time they brought a defunct dredger and they are unable to fix it. We will launch a stiff protest. We will not allow them to cut open the sandbar this time for flood control. Our families and children are struggling because of no work,' he said. An official of the Harbour Engineering Department said that efforts are under way to fix the dredger. 'We cannot operate it without fixing the technical issues. Its a German-made dredger and proper maintenance by the company will further delay the process. Hence we are using local expertise to fix the dredger. We are hoping to begin the dredging activities by Tuesday afternoon,' the official said. Previously, the fishermen had launched indefinite strikes following the shutting down of the harbour owing to sand accumulation.
New Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
People's protest saves Kochi football ground from ‘development'
A wayward 'development' project that threatened to erase a cherished playground in Malippuram, Vypeen, has been thwarted following a groundswell of public protest that was recently highlighted by TNIE . 'Vypeen boasts a long and cherished football legacy. The Veli ground in Malippuram was one of our go-to venues for hosting all-Kerala sevens tournaments,' says Vimal T R, coach of a local club. 'The proposed project would have made play there impossible.' The original blueprint, prepared by the Harbour Engineering Department, envisaged a massive stage with green rooms and toilets, a parking area, an open gym, and walking tracks, shrinking the once 3, green expanse into a cramped 'public meeting spot'. 'These amenities would have eaten up one-fourth of the area,' points out local politician Swathish Sathyan. 'What good is a playground that no one can use?' Ironically, the project fell under Kerala's 'One Panchayat, One Playground' initiative, intended to create rather than curtail play spaces, and about Rs 99.4 lakh was allocated for it. 'It's a classic case of top-down planning. Projects meant for the community must involve the community. That has not happened here,' Swathish adds. Apparently, the initial plan was submitted without extensive public consultation. Local residents only came to learn of the project once boxy cement structures started rising on the open field. Vypeen MLA K N Unnikrishnan, who steered the project, however, begs to differ. 'The project draft was floated well in advance,' he says. 'People and even the panchayat members only started taking a closer look at it once football clubs and sports enthusiasts expressed their discontent.' Before construction could progress further, the residents formed the 'Save Malippuram Ground' action committee. 'Now, after intense negotiations between them and the officials, a new agreement was reached. The ground will now be preserved with a playing area of 60m/40m, sufficient for sevens football,' says C G Biju, the action committee chairman. Portions of the stage and green room encroaching onto the field have been marked for demolition, and the walking track will be realigned to three sides of the ground, leaving the northern side of the site free. Last week, under the supervision of the HED's assistant executive engineer and the action committee, re-measurements were completed. On Monday evening, a portion of the stage was demolished. 'We are expecting the official documentation of the revised plan to be handed over to us within a few days,' Biju adds. The original contract had cited six months to complete the project. With major works associated with it dropped, local residents expect constructions to be over well before the monsoon sets in. 'We just want to resume our games as soon as possible,' says Vimal.
