KOCHI: Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) is going ahead with the construction of a Water Metro terminal in the conservation zone in Fort Kochi despite the Art and Heritage Commission asking the Metro agency to stop the work in the area where construction is banned.
The Metro authorities also pulled down centuries-old Karippura, the facility which had supplied coal to the ships coming from distant places, and even the first office building of Cochin Port.
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), a NGO which stands for the protection of heritage, had lodged a complaint with the Art and Heritage Commission against the Metro agency pulling down some of the heritage buildings and going ahead with the construction of the Water Metro jetty in the conservation zone. Basis on the complaint, the commission issued an order banning the construction at the site on March 30, 201. “But KMRL is still going ahead with the work on the jetty. So, we have moved the high court praying that the location of the Water Metro terminal should be shifted to another area. The case is pending for hearing,” said Intach, Cochin Chapter, convener Babu Rajeevan. “There are three jetties in the Fort Kochi area. The Metro authorities are not ready to relocate the proposed Water Metro terminal to one of the existing jetties,” said Cochin Port Trust former director Babu Rajeevan.
At the same time, officials with the KMRL said that they had pulled down the centuries-old buildings before the Art and Heritage Commission issued the order against demolishing such structures. “We had demolished the structures on December 6, 2020 while the order of the commission came on March 30, 2021,” an official with KMRL said. On why the Water Metro terminal is not being relocated, the official said that it is up to the government to take a call on the issue. “We are just the implementing agency. It is up to the government to take a decision on such matters,” the official said.
According to former mayor K J Sohan, there is a jetty which is operational in the nearby area. “The existing jetty is close to the Ro-Ro jetty. Moreover, the bus station is also close by. We don’t know why the authorities are taking a stubborn attitude that the Water Metro terminal should be constructed in the conservation area itself while more convenient locations are available in Fort Kochi,” Sohan said. “The Metro authorities pulled down a 200- year-old Karippura. Vessels from far-flung areas navigating via Suez would fill coal from Kochi when coal was the main fuel for the ships. Many ships had called on Kochi during the first and second world wars for filling the coal. It has such a heritage. But the authorities demolished it. The first office of Cochin Port and gear house where the equipment for anchoring vessels had been kept were also demolished,” Sohan said. “Moreover, two Chinese nets, which are considered to be the symbol of Kochi, will also be destroyed once the Water Metro terminal comes up in the proposed location,” he said.
