No city for single men and women: Owners draw up new regulations for letting out apartments-HIRAN UNNIKRISHNAN

The Hindu: Kerala: Friday, 06 February 2015.

Finding a roof over their heads is going to be all the more difficult for single men and women in the city. A recent proposal by the All Kerala Apartment Owners’ Apex Association, an umbrella organisation of the flat residents’ association in Kochi, on regulations in letting out apartments has left single men and women a worried lot.

“The landlords have a string of options to choose from. And even if we get an apartment, they set several conditions such as no visitors and no partying, among other things,” said an IT professional, who lives in a bachelor pad near Kakkanad.

The situation is worse for flat-seeking single women. House owners do not even want to consider their requests, some times forcing them to lie about their marital status.

While legal experts point out it as an act of oppression of the minority by majority, the apartment owners are giving umpteen reasons to defend their move.

BEWARE OF THE CAMERA

A camera seems to have put brakes on the “free flow of expressions” that are otherwise witnessed at the Syndicate meet of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat).

With the camera monitoring the Syndicate proceedings, the grapevine has it that members popular for their one-liners and verbal exchanges have gone quieter.

The warring Syndicate members had agreed to install a camera after trying earlier to scuttle the Vice Chancellor’s decision to record the meetings being held at the Syndicate hall.

The Syndicate meet on Thursday was relatively peaceful despite the session debating controversial issues such as the skill test for the sweeper-cum-cleaner post and the appointment of MHRD Chair on Intellectual Property Rights.

The presence of a camera also helped in capping acrimonious debates besides restraining the members from creating a pandemonium.

Syndicate members may also be concerned whether the camera proceedings could be disclosed if someone files an application under the Right to Information Act. The varsity is yet to confirm whether the footage would come under the RTI ambit.