Hotel demolished in the name of Metro

KOCHI:  A hotel in Ernakulam was illegally demolished even as the hotel staff were sleeping inside the hotel building. It was the Saffire hotel building functioning at Kochi M G Road Jose junction that was demolished using JCB by some unknown persons.

The hotel owner and staff said their hotel was demolished by persons who came wearing the uniform of Metro workers. As soon as the hotel staff woke up hearing the commotion, the persons fled the scene.

The demolition of seven shops functioning in Basar building at MG Road as part of Metro Alignment had already started. It was only last week that merchants here had vacated these shop. But remaining three shops didn’t belong to that alignment. Merchants’ association had also submitted a memorandum to the minister concerned in this regard.