Corporation yet to start distribution of bricks used for Attukal Pongala; says cost is too much to count bricks

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even though Attukal Pongala was a month ago, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is yet to begin the distribution of the bricks used for the pongala. Mayor Arya Rajendran had said that the bricks used for the pongala will be collected for the Life project and that fines will be slopped on those who collect the bricks illegally. However, the corporation has not given a final nod despite finding 40 eligible people, including those who are on the Life project list.

The bricks that are kept at the Putharikandam Maithanam are getting damaged. After the pongala, the corporation collected the bricks from various parts of the city in 3 days. More than 100 people have applied for these bricks. The corporation has given priority to the extremely poor, differently-abled persons, those suffering from terminal illnesses and Asraya beneficiaries. The list of 40 eligible persons was prepared from these.

The corporation has to decide on the number of bricks that can be provided to each eligible person. It does not have the exact figure regarding the bricks kept at Putharikandam Maithanam. According to the officials, there are around 2 and a half lakh bricks at Putharikandam Maithanam. Authorities are saying that it won't be an easy task to count the number of bricks as the bricks are piled up.

The authorities are now planning to provide 10,000 bricks each to those who come first on the list and 5000 each to the rest. The corporation abandoned the counting when it saw that it would cost Rs 1 lakh to count the blocks.

The corporation has so far collected 24 loads of bricks. Tomorrow (12/04/2023) is the last day to apply for the bricks. More bricks will be provided to people in the extremely poor section.