The K-Rail initiative enforced stone laying for the SilverLine project has left residents affected in Kerala. As stones had been laid and then uprooted by the locals, a sequence of protests erupted in various regions of Kerala.
After Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Kasargod districts, the state government had ordered to study of the impact of the SilverLine project in the Ernakulam district through the Survey Impact Assessment (SIA).
KM Thomas, a victim and a participant in the protest from Angamaly municipality of Kerala, says, “Here, the survey people are not being received calmly. People enraged at the SilverLine project protest and scare them away.”
Thomas is one of the residents of Kerala whose house has gone under the K-rail blueprint. It could be acquired and demolished by the government at any time. The SIA team is slated to draft an SIA report of their study within 3 months.
K-RAIL SILVERLINE PROJECT ROW
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) March 25, 2022
The contentious #KRail #Silverline survey proceedings are suspended in #Kerala's Ernakulam &across all North districts.
The decision comes in the wake of massive protests against the semi-high-speed rail project. pic.twitter.com/9cLP6kT8XG
“In Ernakulam, surveyors from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences have taken the responsibility of studying the social impact. They are forced to return without carrying out tasks due to the protesting and raging crowd. They always come for the assessment with the police,” said Thomas.
Expressing public concern, Thomas said, “General public sentiments are very much against the K-rail initiative, which makes them difficult to work in progress. Samara Samithi, a protesting union in Ernakulam, has a very strong motive and aim.”
On being asked if the police accompanying the SIA team to Ernakulam registered a case against protestors, Thomas replied, “Few cases have been registered on the politicians from the opposition who participated in the protest. However, with too many people protesting, it is not easy for the police to file cases against everyone.
Expressing anger at the reneged government, Thomas questioned the whole point of bringing the police along for an SIA. “CPI (M) members in Ernakulam have given indirect support to the protesting unions because it will help them bring a shift in their political roadmap,” added Thomas.
Talking about the future plan of action, he said that the protestors would restart protesting after Vishu and Easter.
According to the order issued to the agencies concerned, the SIA in each district should be completed within 3 months. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP have been supporting Samara Samithi since the K-Rail authorities began laying yellow pillars on identified plots.
The government claims that erecting stones on plots is the formality prior to SIA. The study is crucial in deciding the matters, including compensation for people who are affected by the project.
Based on a report by project executing agency K-Rail, the government granted ₹20.5 crore for an SIA. K-Rail approached the government, stating that the study in 11 districts had to be conducted within 3 months.
The government asserts that the 530-km rail stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would escalate economic development and reduce carbon emissions every year by 2.8 lakh tonnes.
The SilverLine is visioned to connect Kollam, Chengannur Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod in four hours.