The agitation against the Semi High Speed Silver Line Project linking capital city of Thiruvananthapuram with the northernmost town of Kasaragod is getting intensified by the day as revenue officials accompanied by armed policemen have started laying the survey stones as part of acquiring land for the 529.45 km long project. Described as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s dream project to counter the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project of the Centre, the land acquisition process has run into trouble as massive crowds are staging demonstrations across the State against Government officials deputed to lay the survey stones. On Wednesday the situation turned violent as the police resorted to use of force to help the officials to do their duty. Many Congress and Muslim League leaders were injured in the scuffle with the cops across the State. A total of 1,383 hectare land is being acquired for the project out of which 1,200 hectare land is with private people. “The 1200 hectare land belongs to minimal, small and medium farmers who will end up in the streets once the land is acquired for the Silver Line Railway,” said John Peruvanthanam, environmentalist. Heart wrenching scenes were seen at Chengannoor on Tuesday as revenue officials charged into the hutment of 65-year-old Thankamma, demolished the stove built of bricks and laid the survey stone right on top of the stove. Thankamma, a casual farm labourer, fell unconscious while the officials executed the job and left the place.
“I don’t have anywhere to go and I do not know how I’ll cook meals for my ailing son,” lamented the lady. John said she was just one of the 25,000 persons who would lose their livelihood and hutments because of the luxury rail line.
Though the CPI, a constituent of the ruling LDF had declared its opposition to the project, by Tuesday evening the party leadership has mellowed down as the CPI(M) parted with one Rajya Sabha seat to its poor cousin.
“The resistance by BJP too is fizzling out by the day as the Centre has given silent approval for the project despite the Kerala BJP’s reservation against it,” said C R Neelakantan, the engineer-turned-environmentalist who is in the forefront of all agitations against ecologically hazardous projects. Neelakantan wondered why the Railway Ministry was not rejecting the proposal though it knows that the Silver Line Rail is detrimental to the State.
He pointed out that the Union Government was aware of the environmental issues arising out of the Project. “The Centre could have said a big No to the project if they were concerned about the plight of the poor. The truth is that the Narendra Modi government has bought peace with the CPI(M) in lieu of the latter calling off the agitation against the Ahmedabad- Mumbai Bullet Train project. The Marxists are silent about it though they had held all India agitations against it,” said Neelakantan.He said the Kerala BJP’s decision to field Metroman E Sreedharan would not make any difference. “There are many hitherto untold angles to this mission. The in-principle approval for the project was obtained projecting it as an elevated project. But in the DPR it was changed to at grade construction in major portions of the alignment. The consultants who had prepared the DPR had mentioned in the report that the most suitable track supporting structure for Silver Line may be the elevated type when considering the topographical and hydrological nature of Kerala. Due to intermittent rains throughout the year, At-grade construction is likely to take more time. Moreover, the change over has necessitated building massive retaining walls and compound walls,” said Neelakantan.
