How the Muthoot murder has hit the airport

Thiruvananthapuram: Believe it or not, but the murder of Paul Muthoot George has had its repercussions on the construction of the new terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
Gangster Rajesh alias Puthenpalam Rajesh, who was arrested in connection with the Paul murder case, was said to be controlling a lobby involved in the supply of earth in the district. With the arrest of Rajesh, the police have launched a strong drive against the lobby. As a result, the supply of earth to the airport construction site has also been affected.
Sources at the airport site said that though they were not getting earth from any illegal sources, the tippers carrying earth to the airport site are also being seized by the police. Moreover, revenue authorities are also not granting permission to remove the earth. This had severely affected the land-filling work for the new terminal, they said.
Police sources, however, said that they were only preventing the illegal excavations and distribution of sand being carried out by members of the gangs led by Rajesh and one Hariprasad. “We have directed all the contractors who have valid permits to carry out the work,’’ said Shangumugham Assistant Commissioner of Police K.C. Sasikumar.
Construction work on the new terminal has already been hit owing to the shortage in supply of sand. The restriction imposed by the authorities in Tamil Nadu on the transportation of sand from that state to Kerala has been cited to be the reason behind this.
16/10/09 Arjun Raghunath/ExpressBuzz

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Categories: Airports Oct 2009