As the protests against the K-rail or SilverLine project continue to rage, Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state won’t stop work on the high-speed rail corridor project
Representational image. AFP
As the protests against the K-rail or SilverLine project continue to rage, Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state won’t stop work on the high-speed rail corridor project.
“Kerala will implement the SilverLine project. There are attempts to mislead people. The project is for the future of our children…If asked privately, Congress leaders would also say that the project is necessary,” the chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
On Monday, residents had prevented revenue officials from laying survey stones for the SilverLine project in Kuriyalippady within municipal limits. Following public outrage, officials were forced to stop affixing stones.
Led by MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, DCC president Nattakom Suresh, Kerala Congress district president Saji Manjakadambil, and ward councillor Vinu Mohan, the protesters remained at the scene despite the presence of a police team.
What is the Kerala government’s K-rail project and why opposition parties and people are protesting against it, let’s take a look:
What is the K-rail or SilverLine project
Currently, travelling from the north end of Kerala to the south end takes about 10 to 12 hours. The state government aims to reduce this time to four hours, travelling at a speed of 200 kmph, with the ambitious rail project.
The Rs 60,000-crore project is one of the biggest infrastructure projects planned by the Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The nearly 529.45 km corridor will connect Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the north.
The high-speed train line will link 11 districts through 11 stations.
According to K-Rail, the project will have trains of electric multiple unit (EMU) type, each with preferably nine cars expandable to 12.
A nine-car train can seat a maximum of 675 passengers in business and standard class settings.
The government has set the deadline of 2025 for the completion of the project.
The government has argued that the project would be beneficial for future generations.
It would result in economic development, reducing carbon emissions every year by around 2.8 lakh tonnes, it proposed.
The government has claimed the line will also help expansion of Ro-Ro services, produce employment opportunities, integrate airports and IT corridors, and enable faster development of cities it passes through.
The high-speed train corridor would be developed by K-Rail — a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry. Starting from the State capital, SilverLine trains would have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.
Why are people protesting against the project
The LDF government’s dream project has met with severe protests from the Congress and its affiliated organisations, as well as the BJP.
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan said the UDF was planning to hold 100 public meetings in the State to show people the project was not worth it and the first meeting would be held at Mulakuzha in Chengannur.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, some BJP leaders including ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan met railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw last month.
The minister had said afterwards that the corridor is “not feasible in the present form. There are many technical and practical issues. And the government says it will be completed by 2025, going by my knowledge it is not possible.”
“Without field level survey (FLS), land plan and sanction, land acquisition cannot be done,” he had written on Twitter.
In January, at least 40 prominent persons including scientists and environmentalists wrote to Pinarayi Vijayan to stop the railway project.
The signatories pointed out that the project will impact the state’s public finance and its increasing ecological vulnerability.
According to the Indian Express, a petition signed by 17 Opposition MPs from the state said the project was an “astronomical scam in the making” and would sink the state further into debt.
The petition, addressed to the Union Railways Minister, said the project was financially unviable and would lead to displacement of over 30,000 families.
A citizen outfit K-Rail SilverLine Viruddha Janakeeya Samiti and green activists have argued that the railway project would cause environmental harm as the route cuts through wetlands, paddy fields and hills.
They said the embankments on either side of the railway line will block natural drainage and cause floods during heavy rains.
With inputs from agencies
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