Kochi: The public outrage against the proposed SilverLine rail project continued in Chottanikkara in Ernakulam district on Wednesday too.
Protesters prevented the efforts of the survey team to plant survey stones on the fields here for the third consecutive day. Three of the stones laid by the authorities were uprooted and disposed in a nearby pond.
Congress activists and public arrived at the site on Wednesday morning when they learned that the authorities restarted the survey process guarded by a huge police contingent.
"We will no allow them to lay a single stone," District Congress committee (DCC) President Muhammad Shiyas said.
Protests by local residents and opposition political groups against the CPI(M)-led government's flagship SilverLine project have rocked various parts of Kerala for the past few days even as the Left party asserted that they would go ahead with the ambitious initiative.
Slamming the protesters for uprooting the survey stones, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the government would not surrender to such pressure tactics.
The SilverLine project, expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the UDF, which has been alleging that it is unscientific and impractical besides putting a huge financial burden on the state.
The CPI(M)-led LDF government contended that the UDF is anti-development.
The government said the project would be beneficial for future generations, would result in economic development, and reduce carbon emissions every year by around 2.8 lakh tonnes.
The 530-km stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail -- a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Ministry of Railways.
Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains would have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.
