Welfare centre reduced to junkyard

PANNAGAD: A Social Welfare Centre, which was started around four decades ago in a spacious building here, has now been reduced to a junkyard.The building, with floor area of 700 sq ft spread over a 7-cent plot, is being used as a scrap collection centre since last year.It was about 45 years ago that office bearers of Panangad Vocational Higher Secondary School, purchased this land. It was later handed over to the Mahila Samajam. This was the beginning of a “prosperous” institution, which empowered hapless women by providing them with training in tailoring, dance, music and other job -oriented courses. Many women became self-sufficient after completing the courses offered by the Mahila Samajam. Later when such courses got unpopular among the younger generation, most of the office bearers of Mahila Samajam left the organisation.  One of the officials then gave the land on lease to a scrap vendor. Interestingly, no other official has any information about this deal.The scrap vendor converted the entire structure into a junk yard. The deal came to light when the managing committee of the Pakal Veedu, a daytime shelter home for the aged, approached the Mahila Samajam for the building, as they found it difficult to run the institution at a rented place.It was only then that the authorities concerned realised that the building was being occupied by a scrap vendor.When they asked him to vacate, he said that he had paid Rs 10,000 as advance money and had been paying Rs 1,500 per month as rent. The authorities are now trying to settle the issue without much hue and cry, as there is no official records regarding the deal.