Asan Memorial: Stir planned against move to acquire land

The move to acquire the land of Kumaran Asan Memorial at Thonnakka near here for the development of National Highway has raised many an eyebrow with writers and the public planning a mass protest against the move.

 ‘’There is a hidden agenda behind the move. As the place is a pilgrimage spot for writers, students and even the common man, we are planning a mass agitation. If there is no move to withdraw the proposal, the agitation will be intensified in the coming days,’’ Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture (KANIC) director M P Subhash said.

 An action council is being planned against the move to acquire the land for the development of the National Highway, he added. It was on July 30 that a public interest litigation was filed in the High Court against the re-acquisition of the Memorial land for the development of the NH, he added. ‘Thapasya’, the organisation which filed the PIL, had submitted that the functioning, safety and the ambiance of the KANIC is vulnerable through unscientific, capricious and destructive actions in the name of modernisation and development. 


 Alleging a hidden agenda behind the move to acquire the land of the memorial, Subhash said the real intention behind the move was to protect the interests of a few land owners in the adjacent locality. The new alignment of the NH was framed to suit the needs of the influential persons, who would get Highway frontage once the land of the memorial was acquired, he alleged. He also accused National Highway Authority former chief engineer of having colluded with the land owners while framing the alignment of the road.

 ‘’If the proposed acquisition takes place, half of the land of the memorial will be lost. The sculptor made by Kanayi Kunhiraman, freedom gate erected on the occasion of the golden jubilee of Independence, administrative block, research centre and library will all have to be demolished,’’ he said and added that nothing could compensate the loss. He also said that the new move comes at a time when there is a move to elevate the Institute into a deemed university.  Another member of the managing committee said that the land opposite the Asan memorial was barren and unoccupied, which could have been acquired.

 ‘’And, if this barren land is acquired, the bend in the Highway could also be avoided. The new alignment has been framed without looking into all aspects and only aimed at helping a few people,’’ he alleged.