Thrissur: Various film organizations have cried foul over the decision of the Chalakudy Municipality to shut down D-Cinemaas, the theater complex owned by actor Dileep. It is a move to gain political mileage, they argue.
G. Sureshkumar, a representative of Producers Association, has come out openly against the municipal council’s move. Film organizations have also decided to intimate chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan the issue. The municipal council of Chalakudy in Thrissur unanimously took the decision to shut the theater complex down recently, citing that it was using high power motor for the generator without necessary clearances.
The authorities brought its shutters down within hours after serving the notice. The concerned engineer of the municipality never bothered to check it whether such a motor was being used there. Ironically, the municipality had never issued the notice to the theater in advance, as per the rules, the organizations complained.
In fact, when the theater owners came to know that the municipality had been planning to crack down on theaters which were using high power motors without its permission, the theaters submitted application for NOC last month. But, the council directed the secretary of the municipality not to accept those applications. Scores of establishments within the municipal limits are still using such motors, without getting any permission, the organizations argue.
The use of such motors is not illegal. But the establishments should obtain permission from the local body. Without considering these facts, the municipality is targeting D-Cinemaas with an agenda to score political points by exploiting the public sentiments against actor Dileep, the film organizations allege.
The UDF-led municipal council granted the permission to D-Cinemaas at first. In the years followed, the LDF-led ruling dispensation renewed its license twice. The other day, both UDF and LDF joined hands to shut it down. The municipal secretary of the same municipality, had checked and issued the permission for the theater complex in question; part of which was built allegedly on the public land encroached by Dileep. The secretary even renewed its permission. But no action has been taken against the official so far.
The whole discussion in the municipal council centered round a single point that D-Cinemaas’ plinth area exceeded 7000 sq.ft. However, the municipality had regularized it by exacting a fine. It also allowed the owner to remit taxes. Now, after a lapse of a year, the municipal councilors have realized all of a sudden that there were malpractices in the affair. Soon after its closure, the employees of the theater complex had told media that the councilors of both UDF and LDF used to collect donations from the theater frequently. The employees also circulated the video of it on social media, the organizations explained.
So the closure of D-Cinemaas by not adhering to the norms and by not issuing a notice in advance was arbitrary, the organizations argued. They also complained that similar actions had not been initiated against other establishments that committed the same mistake. It was a politically motivated move to dupe the public and to show that the municipality had done its bit to ensure justice.
The D-Cinemaas had donated Rs 5 lakh to build a stadium in Chalakudy following a demand from the municipal council. The organizations in the film industry wonder why the municipal councilors blinked at the alleged illegal construction and use of the motor without permission in the theater complex when all those transactions took place. The double standard of the councilors speaks for itself, the organizations stated.
The sprawling theater complex, which started functioning in December 2014, hit headlines after actor Dileep was arrested for allegedly giving ‘quotation’ to attack a prominent Malayalam actress. Following allegations that the theater was built on illegally occupied land, the revenue department had initiated an inquiry. But the state survey department later found that no public land was encroached upon to build the theater. Amidst these, the Chalakudy municipal council on 4 August unanimously decided to close down the theater, by pointing out a number of violations.
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