O J’s Corner
Eviction need not be this harsh

“Saarammare, ellaam poyi” (“Sirs, everything is lost”). This was the most pathetic cry of an 80-year-old goitre-plagued grandma that was shown in a television channel the other day about the demolition of her house and houses of 23 other families in Moolampally in Kochi.

These were not illegal structures, but houses built brick by brick by ordinary mortals by years of toil. What was their fault? These houses were in the line of the road being constructed for Vallarpadam container terminal.

No one can oppose the mega project that should bring benefits to Kerala, its industry and commerce. It goes without saying that those being evicted from the land being acquired should have been properly resettled. From what is appearing in media reports, four cents of land far away from their homes and a sum of Rs 15,000 formed part of the compensation package. Now-a-days, a dog-bunker cannot be built with Rs 15,000.

Mega projects are being undertaken spending lakhs of crores of rupees. There can be no legitimate objection to evictees being given a fair deal. If there is any technical objection, like antediluvian acquisition procedures, it is high time that should be corrected. There cannot be one universal hard-and-fast rule for assessing compensation amounts. These should be regulated in accordance with varying market forces operating in particular areas.


Demolition by brute force, locking the people in a building and razing their houses
Children’s text-books and notebooks being snatched away by authorities do not augur well in a welfare society.

Human beings are like cats in matters of domicile attachment. Cats stick on to the house-buildings, even if the masters change residences. They do not naturally follow the masters wherever they go. The feline allegiance is to its place of habitation. Unlike dogs, whose fidelity is to their masters and not their quarters. They have no difficulty to vacate the house, if the master so decides.

It is painful for human beings to get themselves uprooted from their moorings. It is impossible for them to move out of their dwellings, if they don’t find proper alternatives.

The authorities abandoning people in hapless situation would only force the victims to accept extreme positions.

Moolampally evictees are sitting in dharna in Kochi city. The family members have found the veranda of a school, belonging to a church, their resting place. They have no roof to shelter them.

Social activists have been descending on the people sitting in dharna. Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Dr Sukumar Azhicode and numerous other human rights supporters have offered their solidarity.

Actually, this sort of demolition would only act as anti-development catatlyst. Development is the need of the hour. Don’t give anti-development forces a stick to beat with, in the form of brutal demolitions.