Miseries of the residents in the four demolition-threatened flats in Maradu municipality have been compounded with the authorities snapping power and water supplies to their homes on Thursday.
The services were disconnected a day after the state government had prepared a 138-day plan to raze four apartment complexes – H20 Holy Faith, Alpha Serene, Golden Kayaloram and Jain Coral Cove – which the Supreme Court had found to have built violating the Coastal Regulation Zone rules.
The apex court had first ordered demolition of the apartments on May 8, 2019, followed by an ultimatum on September 6. Last week, the court once again came down heavily on the state government for its failure to raze the flats. The court will issue a final order today.
The demolition threat has already taken a toll on the health of residents. The service disconnection appears to have compounded their miseries.
On Thursday, this correspondent met 60-year-old Maya Prem Mohan, who lives in the sixth floor of the H20 Holy Faith, on the corridor, holding both her knees. She sat there for more than 10 hours after the elevators came to a grinding halt in the morning due to power disruption.
“My knees are weak and I cannot climb the stairs. I have already spent 10 hours here. I came down for my morning walk. I can go back only after switching on the generators,” she said with a sigh.
The most affected by the power disruption were people who use medical equipment that run on electricity.
Adv Antony C Ettukett, a flat owner, said an elderly cardiac patient suffered chest pain after he heard about the service disconnection. “Six of us carried him downstairs and rushed him to the nearest hospital,” he said.
Water scarcity too looms large in the apartment complexes.
“We don't know how many days we can survive. But we will not leave this place unless we get justice,” said a resident at H20.
'Police treat us like criminals'
On Thursday, Thrippoonithura MLA M Swaraj heard the complaints of the flat owners. They told him that the government and police treat them like criminals and terrorists. “Why are they treating us like this? We spent all our savings to buy these apartments. Not a single political party offered us solid support when we were in trouble. The solidarity and promises were hollow. We face criticism and insult on social media,” Suja Roy got emotional while she described her plight.
Suja works in Kuwait and owns a flat in Holy Faith H2O, where her elderly mother stays with a caretaker. “We bought this apartment with our life's savings,” she told Onmanorama.
Jains Coral Cove resident Suthan asked the MLA why the government is not admitting the technical error in its report and reconstituting a committee to study the issue. “If the verdict remains the same after another probe, we would take it as our fate,” he said.
Swaraj assured them that he would present their grievances in the next Assembly session and try to bring justice to them.
However, the flat owners are determined to stay back in their apartments, despite the disconnection of services. They all demand a reasonable compensation before driving them out.
Who is the secretary?
On Thursday. Maradu municipality held an urgent meeting to resolve the confusion following the appointment of the Fort Kochi Sub-Collector Snehil Kumar Singh IAS as the secretary of Maradu Municipality. Singh will helm the demolition operations. He replaced Mohammed Arif Khan.
The meeting unanimously requested the state government to clarify about the powers of the sub-collector. If he is not authorized to carry out the routine tasks of the municipal secretary, the government to allow Mohammed to continue as secretary along with Singh, demanded the municipal council.
