Calicut is the cultural capital of Malabar. ‘Mittayi Theruvu’, the fussy street of Calicut has been the wealth and prosperity of Calicut. This place has a historical and a mythological ancestry.
But gigantic fire flames could destroy everything within seconds. Yesterday’s fire tragedy hurt the mind of Kozhikkodans (people belonging to Calicut). Even though elsewhere the city is growing phenomenally, ‘Mittayitheru’ never lost its prominence.
During festive seasons and in the evenings, hundreds of families visit this place for shopping. This area is one of the most important business hubs of the city. Light and fuss in the late evening give an unusual charm to Mittayitheru, which cannot be seen in any other big cities.
Mangattachan, the minister in Samoothiry dynasty sacrificed his life for the benefit of this cultural city, according to the legend. A variety of sweets, cloth marts, cosmetics and flower stalls with road side hawkers are mark of this area. Within the street, two small temples are also situated here. Surrounding beautiful Mananchira (spectacular pond) make Mittayitheru even more beautiful.
During Ramzan, Onam, and Vishu season, this place is crowded with thousands of shoppers. A big project to modify Mittaitheru business locality is under consideration and discussions are going on. Most of the merchants are supporting for Mittayitheru modification.
Besides the loss of precious lives, crores of merchandises have been burnt. Recovering from such a heavy loss would not be easy.
How can one forget this sweet street? Anyone who passes over here once will definitely fall in love with this wonderful street. This is a nostalgic city for non-resident Kozhikodans. Any hurt to this city give pain to its lovers.
Any plot behind Mittayitheru fire accident?
April 08, 2007
This is a question asked by the public, media, and police. Even the chief minister doesn’t rule out any miscreant action behind the incident.
Circumstances point out possible plot behind the incident because the casualty and the amount of destruction are far beyond a normal cracker shop explosion. But there is no evidence still. After the completion of central forensic inquiry, some details will be hopefully known, according to top officials. But no prejudgment will help at this moment – crime detachment authorities opined. While considering earlier explosions in Calicut, the ante-social plot cannot be ruled out.
At the crowded K.SR.T.C and private bus stands, there had been powerful bomb explosions on experimental basis by miscreants. No major breakthroughs have been made in both explosion cases. Media had criticized the police for not booking the culprits behind those explosions. There had been intelligence reports that some terrorist groups are suspected to be behind the explosions.
But here the explosion took place in a crackers’ shop. So it is very difficult to verify the reason. A scientific method would be necessary to find out the exact reason. The presence of highly explosive potassium chloride at the exploded place is said to be more suspicious, according to some forensic experts. Anyway, central experts on forensic science will inquire the reason of explosion. They will take few more days to state their findings. Govt should check the procedures for giving license to cracker shops and handling explosives at public places.
Seven lives and corers of rupees have been lost in the incident. The shock and fear out of this fire is still in the mind of local people.
