KOCHI: The 500 residents of the Maradu flats facing demolition are determined to stay put even risking their lives. The visit of Chief Secretary Tom Jose to the site on Monday witnessed strong protests by the residents, including those in the film field like actor Soubin Shahir and director Blessy.
Joyson E. Pallan, secretary of Holy Faith H20 Flat Residents Association, said that as a last resort they were filing a curative petition in the Supreme Court though they did not expect any positive outcome. "So far, the court has not even bothered to hear us," he said.
"We'll also try to meet the prime minister and file a petition with the president. But one thing is for sure. We won't move out of our flats at any cost even if it meant losing our lives. We have nowhere else to go but the public roads," said Joyson.
"Even the chief secretary refused to talk to us or accept the petition that we prepared. What wrong did we commit to deny us the right to reside here," he added.
Actor Soubin Shahir said that they had purchased the flats after making all enquiries and never had an idea about this eventuality. "It is our lifetime's earning and I am yet to repay my loan," the actor said. Director Blessy said that none there wanted to harm nature and that they never had an inkling of the real situation.
According to Beyoj Chennatt, another resident of Holy Faith H20, "if the authorities demolish the apartments, we will lie in front of the building. They have to get us first. We have been mentally suffering for the past several months for no fault of ours. The officials who are behind this fault should be punished," he said.
According to C.M. Varghese, a flat owner in Golden Kayaloram, the findings of the expert committee that looked into the alleged violation were flawed. "The very constitution of the committee was flawed. We request the state government to submit these facts before the Supreme Court and ask it to allow the government to constitute a new committee to assess the issue so that a crisis can be averted," said Varghese.
"It's unfortunate that two kinds of justice are meted out to two different groups for the same offence. While the residents of flats like Holyfaith H2O are left to live on the roads, those of the 'DLF' and others were allowed to reside there though in both cases it's the violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms," said Suneela Siby, divisional (Kundanoor) councillor and chairperson of Pawravedi.
"Above all, the ecological impact of demolishing such huge structures should be understood.
A BPCL oil pipeline and the state's longest Kundanoor-Thevara (1.75 km) bridge are passing nearby," she added.
