A quarter-century-old Kudumbashree hotel near Vyttila in the Ponnurunni division in Kochi city Corporation is staring at potential shutdown from Saturday (October 25, 2025) in the wake of a notice issued by the non-tax wing of the Corporation over alleged rent dues.
According to the notice dated September 9, 2025, issued by the Corporation’s Joint Secretary, the hotel—New Akshaya—operating from the Corporation’s Ponnurunni Shopping Complex, owes ₹1.38 lakh in rent, including penal interest. The amount has been calculated at ₹8 a sq ft for the 1,069-sq-ft shop for the period from October 2022 to May 2023. Officials from the Corporation’s Vyttila zone informed Kudumbashree members managing the hotel that it would be shut down on Saturday if the dues are not cleared.
Initially run by 10 Kudumbashree members, the hotel now has 12 members drawn from five neighbourhood groups. It was designated a Janakeeya Hotel under the State government’s Hunger-Free Kerala project, launched during the 2020-21 financial year, offering lunch at ₹25. Under the scheme, rent, electricity, and water charges are to be borne by the local body concerned.
“We continued to pay utility charges for nearly three years after being categorised as a Janakeeya Hotel. When the government stopped the subsidy, we struggled to manage the expenses and approached the Corporation for support. That’s when we were informed that, as a Janakeeya Hotel, we were not required to pay rent,” said Omana Ratnakaran, secretary of the Kudumbashree unit managing the hotel. Subsequently, they stopped paying utility charges.
