THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district administration has allotted purampokku land to a Chalai-based shoe mart chain just a few months after demolishing their building stood right over a drain.
It provided a new triangular property to the store right next to the same reclaimed drain that cuts across from Vrindavan Lane in Chalai to the Putharikandam maidanam.
During the beginning of operation Anantha, the administration reclaimed this portion after demolishing shops including the shoe store named Psycho.
Operation Anantha has reinstated a broad pathway that now connects Chalai to Putharikandam. The shop has now been provided a small property right beside this walkway.
In spite of agreeing that a store cannot hold land authority over the drain, the government land has been provided based on documents that are not older than 1980.
“Apart from this shop, there were three – four poor shopkeepers including watch repairers and plastic sellers. However, the administration is too keen to help the big fish who owns several shops. These moves give hopes to encroachers who want to legitimise their possessions,” said a local shopkeeper.
He points out that boards have already started reappearing on Vrindavan Lane and other locations that had seen anti-encroachment drives.
As per the office of Thiruvananthapuram Tehsildar, the owner had a license for the shop and had been paying taxes for some years though there are missing links on how he secured such a space.
“The new triangular plot is over 10 feet long. Once we put a good interlock tiled pathway, this will become a beautiful alley where shoppers can go. We may have reserved this space for parking, but now it won’t happen,” the official said.
