Payyanur: The protest against the proposed SilverLine Project is gathering steam in Kannur district. Many people set to be affected by the semi high-speed rail corridor construction in Payyanur are conveying their protests as surveyors arrive to conduct the social impact study.
The house-wise survey has been hampered in many places due to the protests by the families, who are going to lose their land and home. In Payyannur itself, 30 houses will have to be demolished.
The survey as part of the social impact study will be undertaken in 23 villages in Kannur district. During the first stage, surveys in 11 villages from Chirakkal to Payyannur will be undertaken in the district.
The state government has identified 106.2005 hectares of land for the project in Kannur district alone. The district will have a 61.7 km stretch out of the 530 km rail line linking Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the northernmost part of Kerala.
In Kannur district the railway line will pass through Kannur, Payyannur and Thalassery taluks.
SilverLine is billed as the biggest infrastructure project in the state's history. It is expected to reduce the travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod to around four hours.
Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) is the builder. The mammoth project is estimated to cost over Rs 63,000 crore.
Scope of the survey
The scope of the social impact study includes the number of families to be rehabilitated, the size of the land covering the project as well as the number of houses, colonies and other public places in the area. The study will also look into if the land to be acquired is totally required for the project. The cost to compensate for the potential social impact will also be estimated during the study.
