Thiruvananthapuram: Govt land' turns breeding ground for mosquitoes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 1.5-acre plot in the heart of the city, which people around it say is owned by the government, is giving its neighbours a hard time. The plot close to SS Kovil Road is a breeding ground of mosquitoes and the rodents which reside here include snakes, according to Chandra Kumar, its next-door neighbour. “They clear the shrubs here occasionally, and the rodents would surface at our homes,” he says.

Adding to the peril are some residents who fling garbage into the plot. Neatly packed in plastic covers, they rot slowly, next to other people’s homes. This was where Metropolitan Engineering Company Limited, under Industries Department, used to operate, according to Mr Chandra Kumar. Earlier there have been attempts to put the plot to good use. Thampanoor Residents’ Welfare Association vice-president Rajendra Kumar says that there was a proposal to cut a bypass drain through the plot to end waterlogging of SS Kovil Road.

“Former collector Biju Prabhakar had even arrived at the gate but the industries department was said to be unwilling to concede the demand,” he says. However officials in the Department say the plot mostly likely would not be owned by it. “The department owns Veli Industrial Estate and Manvila Industrial Estate in Thiruvananthapuram,” an official said. “Plots we owned in Kazhakkoottam and Pappanamcode were handed over to KINFRA and SIDCO. There are no other plots under us.”