Kochi/Malappuram: The Centre is unlikely to give its approval for the SilverLine Project in Kerala as there were lot of faults in it, Metroman E Sreedharan said on Thursday, even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asserted that his government would not back down from developmental activities by yielding to protests from some people.
In a tit for tat reply to Pinarayi, Sreedharan said K-Rail is not going to be a reality as it's not a project with any realism.
"What's going to happen in the K-Rail project is Pinarayi will become isolated. Already many in CPM are not for this, while the CPI has already expressed their reservation. It's surprising to hear that this project will be completed in 5 years, while the fact of the matter is it won't be completed even in 15 years," said Sreedharan.
"I don't think the Centre will give its approval for this project because there are a lot of technical errors in it," Sreedharan told reporters at Malappuram.
Letter to PM Modi
Noting that the railways is a central subject and not a state subject, the Metroman said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi citing the problems involved in the project.
"I wrote to the prime minister because the state government started acquiring land before getting the sanction for the project," said Sreedharan, who is also a special invitee to the national executive of the BJP.
While Sreedharan was speaking his mind out against K-Rail project, Pinarayi was busy interacting with an invited audience at Kochi highlighting what this means and everything is in order and those who are opposing it have vested interests.
The Metroman, who is credited with changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, said the SilverLine will divide Kerala as high concrete or masonry walls have to be provided on either side to prevent trespass of people and animals.
He said providing solid walls on either side is a sure environmental disaster as it will block natural drainage and will be an eyesore as well.
He also questioned the government for not releasing its Detailed Project Report (DPR), saying the actual cost of the project will be revealed only through the DPR.
Meanwhile, in Kochi, Pinarayi said it is not right to abandon the project because some people are protesting against it.
Stating that the SilverLine project is being done for the better future of the state, the chief minister said his government would not give into opposition pressure.
"It is the duty of the government to lead the state to progress," Pinarayi said.
The SilverLine project
The state government's plan is to connect the 540 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram in the South to Kasaragod in the north by semi-high-speed rail, under its ambitious SilverLine project. The project to be developed by K-Rail a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state is expected to reduce the travel time between these two ends of the state to around four hours.
Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.
Protests across the state
The Youth Congress on Thursday took the protest against the SilverLine to the streets by waving black flags at the chief minister when he reached the TDM Hall in Kochi for talking to civic dignitaries about the project.
The police removed the three protesting Youth Congress workers from the spot.
The Congress and the BJP are now getting ready for another round of protests against Pinarayi and the K-Rail project.
Massive protests are also being reported against the K-Rail officials who are working on the alignment of the project, when they come to put the marking stones.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
