Even as there is a difference of opinion regarding the proposed spot for the Kozhikode Corporation’s sewage treatment plant at Kothi, the Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi is getting ready to launch a massive campaign against the project on Sunday, claiming that the project would violate Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.
It has been half a decade since the Kozhikode Corporation announced the proposal to construct an STP at Kothi, along with Avikkal Thodu, where public protest has escalated recently. However, the Corporation’s attempt to measure a strip of land along the Pallikandy-Azheekal Road and to cut down mangroves, supposedly for the STP project, created a public uproar and confusion regarding the actual site of the STP.
“Kothi is one and half kilometres away from the Pallikandy-Azheekal road, which is on the banks of the Kallai river. They will have to fill a portion of the river to build the STP here. How is that possible when the site is specified as Kothi in the detailed project report [DPR],” asked action committee chairman Faisal Pallikkandy.
However, the Corporation has claimed that the site on the Pallikandy-Azheekal road on the banks of the Kallai was the same as that mentioned in the DPR. Local councillor P. Muhsina said there had been confusion regarding the site of the STP and the mention of the Kallai river as ‘Kothi river’ in the DPR had caused it.
There have been large-scale protests in the locality against the STP project. There were heated arguments between a team of the Kozhikode Corporation and the local people on Friday as the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Corporation Secretary visited the spot. Mayor Beena Philip has assured the people that their concerns will be addressed before work on the STP begins.
