Students of Ernakulam Maharaja’s College staged a protest on Monday against the use of college land close to the Hospital Road for the walkway project under the Kochi Smart Cities Mission project.
Activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) formed a human chain opposing the project while members of the Kerala Students Union organised a strike on the campus.
The students said the takeover of the land for the project was not acceptable. They alleged that the project was part of the ongoing efforts to grab the precious college property in the name of various developmental works.
‘Decision taken last year’
The college authorities pointed out that a decision on providing a portion of the college land along the Hospital Road for the walkway project was taken at a meeting held last year. Senior officials of the Higher Education Department and Kochi Corporation had attended the meeting that cleared the use of the land for the beautification work as part of the walkway project, they said.
Kochi Metro Rail Limited, which is implementing the project for Cochin Smart Mission Limited, clarified that only beautification work was being carried out along the Maharaja’s College land as part of the walkway connecting the Maharaja’s College metro station and Ernakulam boat jetty.
The government had already cleared the project, which aims to set up a wide footpath, green spaces, disabled-friendly walkways, and a dedicated space for parking.
The idea is to enhance the experience of using the metro, and also promote non-motorised transport along the stretch by providing an attractive walking environment.
The model footpaths on either side of the Hospital Road will have drains, utility ducts, street poles and pedestrian lights, pedestrian crossings with standards, fencing, shrubs and bollards. Modern bus shelters will also be constructed along the stretch along with cycle tracks aimed at promoting non-motorised transport systems.