Kochi: Construction activities as part of the Kochi Metro project were disrupted for close to three hours at Kalamassery on Tuesday when employees of the Apollo Tyres Ltd protested against “blocking passage” before the company.
The protest started at 10 am when the contractor, L & T, stationed a piling machine before the right gate entrance as part of the construction. Soon employees of the company assembled and staged a protest shouting slogans and threatening the officials against proceeding with the work.
The construction agency, however, pointed out that there were two entrance gates to the company. “We started the works here only after completing piling, pier cap and other related works before the left gate.
That entrance is now open and only then did we start work at the right gate. They were deliberately creating trouble,” said sources.
DMRC and KMRL officials were informed and they promptly intervened and held talks with the protesters. “The protestors finally climbed down from their stance after the assurance that their concerns would be looked into,” they said.
A cold war is on between Apollo Tyres and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd over allotment of 1.5 acre land belonging to the former for construction of a metro station and parking lot there. The company had refused to handover the said land.
