Fort Kochi RDO office to be shifted

KOCHI: In yet another sign of official indifference, the state government is shifting many government offices from Fort Kochi to Ernakulam.
In the latest such move, authorities are planning to move Fort Kochi revenue divisional office (RDO) to Ernakulam. Local residents and people’s representatives in the area have started protests against the decision.
According to some residents in the area, the current decision to shift the office is an attempt to silence the RDO who has been very active in enforcing law.
“Only a few months ago, the heritage building, housing the RDO office, was renovated spending lakhs of rupees. The move to shift the office to Ernakulam is suspicious. Many government offices in Fort Kochi have already been shifted to other places. This is a clear case of neglect on part of the state government. Cutting across party lines, we will start an agitation against it,” said Antony Kureethara, councillor of Fort Kochi division.
Sub-collector S Suhas, who is the acting RDO, confirmed the move to shift the office. “I go by my duty. I will work from wherever the government wants me to,” Suhas told TOI.
The state government had also identified land and earmarked funds for constructing the residence of sub-collector in Fort Kochi.
Details like where the authorities are planning to shift the RDO office are not known.
Earlier, the district court, PWD office, cheque clearance house of SBI, which was one of the main offices of the bank in the Kochi region, were shifted to Ernakulam.
“Last year, there were moves to shift the fire station from Kochi despite the fact that the area has many heritage buildings. Due to protests, the government was to withdraw. But, many facilities at the fire station were shifted to other areas,” Kureethara said.
There are also allegations that the corporation and state government are not spending enough funds for developing infrastructure in the area.
“Given the importance of the area to tourism, the state government had proposed to relay all the roads following the bituminized macadam and bituminized concrete (BMBC) method. But, all agencies, including the tourism department, have not taken any step since then,” Kureethara said.
“The Kochi corporation has also failed to give equal importance to west Kochi area compared with other areas when it comes to planning projects,” he said.