With the much publicized Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Silver Line Rail getting shelved due to massive opposition from environmentalists and people of the State, some vested interests have come together pitching for the revival of the 111-km-long Angamali-Sabari Rail Line ostensibly for the benefit of Lord Ayyappa devotees from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh who undertake the annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, the holy shrine atop Western Ghats.
Four Lok Sabha members Anto Antony, Haiby Eden, Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and Thomas Chazhikkadan (Kerala Congress Mani) and four MLAs, Roji John, Sebastian Kulathunkal, Mathew Kuzhalnadan and Eldhose Kunnappilli have issued statements demanding the immediate implementation of the Sabari Rail Line which they claim would make pilgrimage to Sabarimala easy. However, BV Kumar, IRS officer who led the country’s Revenue Intelligence for years, and who is familiar with the operation of narcotics traders in India, sounded caution while speaking about the proposed Sabari Rail. “The Western Ghats close to Sabarimala are places ‘well known’ as the ganja/marijuana cultivation centres in India. Narcotics traders have commissioned tribal communities in the region to cultivate ganja in reserve forests along Tamil Nadu, Kerala border,” said Kumar. He said marijuana was being transported to Kochi via road . “The narcotics lobby has understood that it is no more safe. So they need an alternate mechanism to ferry the commodity. Train is an ideal mode of transport for this mafia,” he said.
E Sreedharan, former chief of Metro Rail has warned the Centre and State Governments. “Sabarimala pilgrimage is just for four months. Is there any need to cater exclusively to the pilgrims for this period. Where will the travellers come from once the main doors of the Lord Ayyappa temples are shut,” Sreedharan told Prime Minister Modi in a letter.