The Hijacked City
A couple of months back, Kerala’s leading news channel came up with this one piece about a series of snatch n run incidents in the state.
It was about the consistant confiscation of the major investment projects from Trivandrum to be relocated elsewhere. Not that it was an almighty scoop or eye-opener for anyone but a reality address of what has been going on behind the screen when a big project is announced for Trivandrum.
Makes sense?
No bickering, patriotism or attempt to spew petty regionalism but an honest portrayal of the indecent proposition the city has received over time.
Latest, the Railway Medical College which was proposed in in the 2009 Rail Budget and promised to Pettah, Trivandrum is now heard to be coming up in Ernakulam. The reason given by the authorities is that they were unable to locate suitable land for the project! Railways needed just 35 acres of land, and amazingly it is unavailable in Trivandrum! (??)
It’s a big joke when you think that this same old, odd reason is being flung up everytime a project is taken out of the city or district. Makes a cow laugh, and it’s a contingent querry as to where all the 2192 sq.km of terrain vanishes from our Revenue Dept archives when specifically dealing with investment issues for Trivandrum.
The Railway Medical College is the last of a pretty long list dating back to the formation of State. It’s no surprise for any resident of the city that this has been happening, in fact it is a big surprise if a proposed project gets realized in Trivandrum battling its way out through the political/ bureaucratic labrynths with trapholes in every step aiming to skulk or skyjack the file.
How many of us are aware of the fact that the Kerala Agricultural University was originally proposed to be attached to the Vellayani Agricultural College but later ended up in Trichur. The step-motherly treatment began a good way back with the condescending State Govts never bothering a damn about raising the infrastructural amenities of the city to suit a state capital. Trivandrum’s main thoroughfares are being developed only now, 60 years after the formation of the state. Whose job was that, and what does that tell you?
A pleothra of projects deemed for Trivandrum ended up at all nook and corners of the State. Sonia Gandhi announced that a Textile Park in Kannur and NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) in Trivandrum but both ended up in Kannur. The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) which had Trivandrum as its headquarters when envisaged, magically changed to Ernakulam at the stroke of a pen. Same with Legal Services Authority which was relocated overnight, but thankfully back home now. The expansion of Pallipuram CRPF Camp is happening nearly 500km North, in Kannur, because apparently no land could be identified for the expansion, lol. And now Technocity is coming up on 700-odd acres shouldering the CRPF Camp, wonder where the land sprung up all of a sudden… Parasuram?
The recent tug-of-war for the Center of Excellence in Psychiatry is another example of this burglery, if not for Shashi Tharoor now it would’ve been in Calicut.
But why just Trivandrum? And it is important that we clarify that we are not in the way of other developments in the state but just demanding that we receive the fair share of the investments, in a democratic way.
I’m forced to conclude that the spineless and disinterested leaders we’ve chosen to represent us in the Assembly and New Delhi share the credits. Accept it, other ministers had more interest in their regions than our own representatives, and they successfully managed to pump in more into their constituencies at the expense of Trivandrum. K.V. Thomas managed to plagiarize the Hospitality Management Institute to Malayattor (initially it was proposed in Kovalam, associated with KITTS) and then got the Biotechnology Park to his constituency which was originally planned in Thumba. Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it, when you think that top Biotech institutes of the state are located in Trivandrum? M.A.Shanavas almost managed to get the Sree Chithra Institute expansion to Waynad because apparently there was no land in Trivandrum! I heard the same story when the Air India Hangar was lured out from here, but public anger and protest brought it back to the city. The plagiarizers also tried their hand at Habitat Centre proposed in Kowdiar, its still not off the ground after over a decade.
Trivandrumites were also taken for a ride in the name of an International Cricket Stadium in Muttathara which has changed location to Edakochi. And the lack of a dedicated stadium also appear to cost Trivandrum its own IPL Team promoted by the city-duo Mohanlal-Priyadarshan. And now Govt is playing the fool with Brahmos, with the old no-land tale again, and God forbid it wo’nt end up in Mahendagiri like the LPSC Centre did.
A simple example of how one plagiarism leads to spill-over losses… The educational institutes which Trivandrum lost, if had been established here instead of getting scattered, would’ve immensely helped build the Trivandrum brand internationally, from the education and R&D hub which it is even now. No loss has been as glaring as the IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), which the whole state missed out because some people didn’t like the idea of Trivandrum being shortlisted for it.
Not to mention the virtual Take Deviation board at Technopark, Trivandrum’s engine of growth. Many a companies were advised other locales in the state when they were specifically looking for Trivandrum, of which Satyam created a furor out of it. Gulfar had big plans for Technopark during its nascent stages but was roped away as initial investors for Hi-tech Park (now Infopark). Similarly L&T‘s request for a chunk of land for their IT Park was reported in all dailies but mysteriously they too got displaced. Awesome!
Its not only grab n run, but Trivandrum has been forced to stand out of the way for
Vizhinjam: Blessed with natural depth and human resource. Why we are delaying it?
similar ventures in the state to prosper. Do I need to tell a better example than Vizhinjam? It has taken years for the realization of Terminal 3 at Trivandrum Int’l Airport, even now the State govt hasn’t done much to acquire the land needed for the next phases of the new Terminal.
But is politics the only reason behind all this? The citizens, including you and me also contributed to this. Happy to be in the shell, there were no voices raised against the plaigrism. Only when the ministers were threatened that they’d be blocked on the roads that the Capital Road Development Project was initiated by A.K. Antony. Some mediahouses were also accused to be on the forefront to make sure that the city had a significant weight attached to its leg. Local press hardly bothered their ink to print out this matter, so the undercover agents had smooth sailing most times.
But the internet boom and the activities of a few NGO Groups like the Resident’s Associations and more importantly TDF (Trivandrum Development Front) , have managed to increase awareness and plug the leak. Lately, the involvement of Shashi Tharoor who has no strings attached to work and fight for Trivandrum has given the above mentioned groups more hope and strength. But as Trivandrumites it is about time that we stood up and shouted, “Enough! We deserve better!”.
We have the platforms now, so when we make noise we better make sure that the decibels are there…it matters…
Click here for the video from Asianet.
Image Credits: Vizhinjam
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Author: scorpiogenius (8 Articles)
scorpio, but far from a genius. XY chromosomal, travel addict, media-holic, big-city maniac, fun loving and absent minded. That's me in a nutshell! :)
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A true story of a painful city. yes indeed many of the facts are well said in the above article.We need a change and we deserve it
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In the begining we lost kanyakumari district.Really it was a conspiracy by vested intrests.then High Court bench.then IIM and finally medical university.we are enjoying the mass rally of keralaities blocking all the primary and essential need of trivandrmites
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We need more ‘educated’ politicians like Tharoor.
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It’s not only about education but also the leader with the right attitude and vision. What Trivandrum needs is more leaders like Tharoor who’re honest and committed to the people of their constituency.
I heard a story of a former MP of ours from very dependable sources who works for the city. When they went to speak to our former MP about pushing for Vizhinjam in the Parliament his reply was: “Oh! We got permission for Vallarpadom after long negotiations, so let’s wait until it is commissioned and then we will think about Vizhinjam”. It’s not that anyone is against development in other parts of the state but that MP of Trivandrum was letting down his own people who voted him to power. He was heeding his ears to the words of the distractors by violating the trust Trivandrumites rested on him. This has been the history for long…
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So there is like absolutely No way we can voice to help trivandrum win what is rightfully its own? I mean, there should be…
If this issue gets more light, I’m sure we’ll have a lot of intelligent volunteers to protest n make things run the way it should.
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I agree we need more leaders who are committed to their constituency.
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being a true thironthoramkaarann, it was truly saddening to hear abt all those leaked projects..
wantng to hear some gud news now..ny worthy projects to look forward to??
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Its really easy to bring all these things back to trivandrum…………
the ways are
(1) the ego complex and lobbying of kochi pricks should end.
or else
(2)Pray that some one on this land with devils own people would burst a fire cracker ( even a 1re fire cracker) near mulla periyar.
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i second! we need some educated politicians… but does that solve the matter??
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your statement of Kochi being the only city in Kerala clearly shows that what kind of mind set you people carry. Trivandrum is the most populous city in Kerala and just visit to see what is Trivandrum like. of course not like the people of mosquito colonized careless waste dumped Kochi.
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i back u dude….
theres nothing much in kochi to boast off apart from the mosquito menace, smelly marine drive and the traffic…
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Keep wining you gay retards !!!!!!!!!
But the fact remains .. I like TVM more than cochin .. Its a nice place to live but I dont think it deserves any thing more than any other place in kerala … Its just a nice place to be .. And you gays sucks !! Fighting over nothing !!! Filthy fucking retards …
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Saneesh,
I am against comparing Trivandrum with Cochin or any other cities. This post clearly mentions about the projects that were supposed to be in Trivandrum and moved away because of unknown reasons. Dont generalize the opinion that Tvm-ites bashing Cochin for no reasons. I do love cochin for it's lifestyle, but at the same time I love Trivandrum for its cultural richness and semi-metro lifestyle. It's a perfect blend. Cochin do have more commercial activity, because of the proximity to a good port.
No one can deny the fact that Trivandrum deserves a good port, not just for the development of the city, but for the entire nation as Vizhinjam can do magics in international trade.
Only thing I feel missing in Trivandrum when compared to Kochi is the absence of good retail outlets even though Trivandrum holds a much higher population than Kochi.
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The misfortune of Trivandrum is that it has been subjected to negligence by the politicians who are mainly from out side Tvm, and those who are from Tvm don’t have time nor interest in the well being of the capital city. M.Vijayakumar is an exception…and Sashi Tharoor is too new to assess.
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and please dont come and blurt out your prejudice in Trivandrum forum. Put your thoughts for good cause. ..like eradicating mosquitoes of Kochi.
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When ever I travel through the length and breadth of Kerala, I’m intimidated by a feeling, forced into me by some people, that I belong to a so called “south block” of Kerala.
I’ve been living in Trivandrum since my childhood and the city has become my home town ever since then. Although I’ve spent a good part of my life in Kochi and Bangalore, always missed the aura of Trivandrum. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, some people from elsewhere Kerala, force into, to believe that Trivandrumites are bad, I don’t still understand about the scale or criteria they use for measuring the badness in us. (contd…)
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I am a Trivandrumite, having spent a substantial part of my life in Cochin as well. Presently, I am working in Qatar.
We should not unnecessarily bash over Trivandrum versus Cochin. Both have their own merits. As I indicated in some other column, Cochin is what it is today because of the people. The people of Trivandrum should come forward by getting out pschologically from the “I want a government job” or “I want to get PHD and become a teacher” syndromes. Trivandrumiites should get out of their laid-back attitudes and come out to the forefront.
As rightly stated, politicians never took any interest in Trivandrum. Mr. M. Vijaya Kumar is an exception. But, the fact is that this time he could not succeed in getting any projects for Trivandrum.
The only person to look forward to is Mr. Shashi Tharoor. It is high time, we develop an agenda to bring to his notice.
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I am associated with Trivandrum Development Front, an NGO which aims to promote Trivandrum as an investment destination. We work with various government and private We have worked both with M.Vijayakumar and Dr.Shasi Taroor on various initiatives.
I would say that Mr.Vijaya Kumar has done things for which Trivandrum has been raising its voice for the last 15 years. In some of the projects listed below he was actively involved to move things forward and TDF has worked closely with MVK on these projects.
International Convention Centre, Aakulam: May be it is in his constituency he took extra effort. The contract was awarded to K.Raheja Corp. First phase construction to commence in another 3-4 months. The project was cleared by the Central Environment Clearance Board sometime back.
Technopark Phase III and Technocity: TDF has taken up this issue with MVK many a times and he himself took the initiative to organize and co-ordinate the meeting among diff dept. The end result 90 acres for TP Phase III and 400 acres of Technocity. Now we have HCL in the list of companies requesting land of 2 acres in Technopark phase III along with two three known IT/Infra developers.
Land for IISER: 400 acres were transferred without any delay.
Land for IIST: Everyone knows how MVK was targeted for the land deal. But thank god we won otherwise it would have shifted out of Kerala, not to forget the role of Mr.Madhavan Nair.
International Cricket Stadium: TDF was actively involved in scouting land for the stadium. With the help of MVK the land at kudapannakunnu was zeroed in. The agricultural minister agreed in principle to transfer the land but the governing council of KCA changed and as expected the project was shifted to Cochin. The scouting for NG 2010 helped us and in principle has given Trivandrum 3 new stadiums. For the International stadium the NGS has shortlisted 8 companies.
Land for KSRTC @ Tampanoor and Enjackkal: How long we have been hearing about this? The construction of new terminal is going on and land has been acquired fully for the Enjackkal bus station
Land to Infosys, UST and TCS: Trivandrum should be grateful to Mr A.K Antony for getting Infosys to Trivandrum. But the promised 50 acres was not transferred till 2005-2006. We regularly followed up with his ministry and Technopark and his initiatives helped in providing land to Infosys without further delay.
CRIP: Won’t say that things are happening fast but GOK acquired the 67% of land required for widening. None of the thickly populated/busy roads were touched by the previous govt. The CRIP project is expected to get finished by 2011 end. MVK chaired the committee for LA and CCDP.
High Court Bench : First time in the history of Kerala The governor, on request from the GOK, has written to the president to allow a high court bench in Trivandrum. Now at least the people in Trivandrum know the ball is in whose court. Hope Dr.Taroors will play is part to get the high court bench.
CBI Court and Administrative Tribunal : Both under MVK’s ministry. The recently inaugurated court complex at vanchiyoor will house both these courts. It is learned that 60% of the cases in the Kerala High Court relates to administrative disputes. Once the Kerala administrative tribunal starts functioning all the new cases registered will be under this tribunal. The petitioners can give appeal only in the Supreme Court.
AIIMS status for Medical College Trivandrum: We have first hand information about the former health minister in UDF govt spoilt game play to shift the AIIMS status awarded to Trivandrum. It took immense effort from MVK and CM to pull it back to Trivandrum’s favor.
So saying that MVk was a failure is wrong on the contrary he failed to convey his achievements to the general public.
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such an exhaustive list..Wonder what would’ve been the case if at least half of these projects took off…Vizhinjam alone could change the face of the city and the whole state…but sadly petty regionalism plays spoilsport…why cant we just grow together rather than play bad games at each other and lose everything together?
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@Praveen
Yes, there’s no surprises about the exhaustive list. These are projects which are currently under various stages of development and few of them are nearing completion and the rest expected to be completed in 15-24 months time.
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Yes indeed i do agree that Vijayakumar was an exception as a politician who had a will to do something for TVM.Now he can have Tharoor with him,irrespective of there parties they need to do something surely. We cannot hope it will happen in flash of time,becaz for that to happen we need all the representatives all the MLA’s and MP to work together for developing the city.Taking a stadium from tvm to kochi is something i dont undesrtand.That mindset need to change .I am not aginst any other city,but we also deserve our due.I know there are plenty of people around in tvm who want a change.And Hope this cry for a change falls in the ears of people who are responsible.
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Even as agriculture ministry had given clearance to the land at Kudapanukunnu for the proposed cricket stadium of KCA,it was surprising that the KCA governing council change without any reason opting for the marshy land at Edakochi. The sports ministry should enquire about this foul play in detail,as,I understand KCA is answerable to the goverbment.
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I read one of my frd saying we need educated persons like Tharoor..peoples gud wrk is nt evaluated against their education..the most imp thing wch Thriuvananthapuram needs is nt an ipl team or a cricket stadium..we need gud infrastructure,vizhinjam project,technocity and ofcourse high court bench..we need someone who can even raise these issues in front of the govt..
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Ok,so you want the land of mozzies,that stupid kochi ?
How DARE you make such comments on a public forum ?
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You BLOODY FOOL
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@ Madhavan Kutty
nee entha paranjey??”lets face the fact that TRIVANDRUN Sucks !!! ”
pinnenthinaadey nee ee site ilottu keriyathu!!! kalanjitu podey!!!!!
Whatever you fools say , Trivandrum IS the capital and it will always be the largest and the best City in Kerala..
Trivandrum inu kittunnathil paathi ipo thanna edukkunundallo.. ollathu kondu onam pola kazhiyu!!!
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You shit head madhavan , where the fuck are u from , you fukin retard you speak as if you are from downtown NYC , Iam sure you should be from some shit hole slump .
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No wonder development is going on at a snail’s pace in TVM.These foolish politicians should be sacked and influential people like Tharoor should replace them.
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For your kind information trivandrum is not the only city in kerala.We want people form all backgrounds as well as region to benefit from development activities conducted by our government.So rather making fuzz about not getting the projects implemented at Trivandrum everyone should be happy that the project was successful in some other part of kerala.Kerala is a small stretch of land with its own identity so lets not be so regional in our ideas.
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It was funny to read WHY trivandrum shdould be the Capital. 63 years back no other place was worth to be Capital other than this place patronized by icons like Swathi Thirunal, Raja Ravi Varma and all. Its Trivandrums misfortune that this status brought all crooks and selfish people across Kerala under one Legislature and the city is forgotten. Even today you walk around Trivandrum any good thing you see can be dated back to early 1900′s. And Trida’s Shopping Complex in Palayam is the best example of rotten duds who is ruling and changing the face of Trivandrum!!
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