Kochi: Its name is Revenue Tower, but the 14-storied building of the Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB) has actually been a ‘non-revenue tower’ since its inauguration.
Despite gaining the dubious distinction of having been inaugurated more than once because of political overtones, the Revenue Tower is still not attracting any private parties. It was here that a woman got stuck in a lift for an hour on Friday following a power failure.
Built on nearly an acre of land close to the Marine Drive, the tower was completed at a cost of Rs 26 crore. Its basement has space for 40 shops, while the first floor has nine shops and parking facilities.
There is space for 39 shops each in the second and third floors and the floors from five to 13 comprise office spaces. The KSHB authorities claim they tried to persuade the government offices functioning in private buildings to open their offices in Revenue Towers, but that the attempts had gone in vain.
The district collector’s plan to transfer the offices of civil supplies, sales tax and treasury from the civil station to the Revenue Tower had also failed as a second block was constructed and opened at the civil station.
The city police commissionerate, offices of Kochi Metro Rail Corporation, Kerala State Lotteries, a food court and a few other private shops are the only offices and shops running at the Revenue Tower now.
According to the owners of shops at Revenue Tower, the lack of a mobile network has been the hindrance in opening more shops in this building located close to Foreshore Road.
The lack of mobile network has also been affecting the works of the police and the KMRL officials as they are forced to depend on a few landline phones to communicate. The frequent glitches in the lifts of the tower have also been an issue for the officials, workers and the public.
