Evictees to take out march today

KOCHI: The Moolampilly Coordination Committee will take out a protest march on Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of Moolampilly eviction drive.  The rally will begin from Menaka at 4.30 pm and a meeting will be organised at the High Court Junction. Justice V R Krishna Iyer will inaugurate the meeting, while MLAs S Sarma, Dominic Presentation and Hibi Eden, Congress leader V M Sudheeran, Varapuzha Diocese Vicar General Alex Vaduthala and C R Nelakandan will take part in the protest march.It was four years ago that 10 families at Moolampilly were forced out of their land as part of the Vallarpadam Container Terminal project without ensuring any rehabilitation package. Even after a year since Prime Minister commissioned the Vallarpadam terminal, 300 out of the 316 evicted families are living in makeshift tents and rented houses. The rehabilitation package promised by the government still remains on the paper, said the coordination committee members.As eight months have passed since the UDF government declared full rehabilitation for the evictees, confusion still prevails in implementing the package. Electricity, road, water and drainage facilities are totally absent in the pieces of land allotted as part of the package at Moolampilly, Kothadu, Mulavukadu, Vaduthala and Cheranalloor. Moreover, the debris of the North Railway overbridge are also dumped at these sites.The govt, which had given a meager amount as part of the land acquisition, has levied 12 per cent tax on the amount.