THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The powerful disaster management Act seems to have lost its teeth if one goes by the recent order of the High Court in favour of bar owner Biju Ramesh.
The tall claims made by the Chief Secretary, who is glorifying Operation Anantha on every occasion, are belied when it comes to critical encroachments.
The High Court has set aside the order issued by the District Disaster Management Authority to knock down the five-storey beer and wine parlour.
Many others who lost their property units in the name of Operation Anantha are now gearing up to move the court seeking compensation for their loss.
Ashraff A., whose shop was demolished as part of the drive, lashed out at the double standard of the authorities.
The small two-storey shoe shop at Chalai was knocked down without giving him even a 24-hour notice.
“It was a family business and even mutation was done by the revenue authorities. We were paying taxes but the collector or the chief secretary didn’t give us enough time to shift. The shop was started by my grandfather. Later, my father took over and 30 years back, I started running it. It was totally unfair and I and my family are yet to come to terms with what has happened,” said Ashraff.
“They can enforce law but could have given us time to shift our things or hear our version. The notice was served at 5 pm and the very next morning, they started the demolition,” said Mr Ashraff.
The judgement by the HC has come as a heavy blow for the district administration. “We are yet to get the copy of the judgment. The HC was not convinced that the five-storey building is an impending disaster. The Thekkanamkara canal is running beneath the busy East Fort Road and the DDMA has failed to prove that there is an inevitable disaster. There is flow in the canal,” said a source in the district administration.
