Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's home district Kannur witnessed protests against the government's ambitious SilverLine semi-high speed project on Friday for the third day in a row.
Marker stones were planted in the properties falling in the alignment of the proposed rail project at Muzhappilangad amid protest led by Congress activists, while the authorities could not carry out their works in Dharmadom village.
Dharmadom, which falls under the chief minister's constituency, witnessed stiff protests by local people, Congress activists and SDPI workers.
The protesters allegedly manhandled Arun Kumar, an engineer with the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail), which is implementing the project. Congress activists hurled abusive words at media persons who tried to cover the manhandling of the engineer.
The officials had to face emotional outbursts by women in the area who said they will not leave their homes for the project no matter how much compensation they are paid.
Different parts of the state have been witnessing similar protests by people who fear they will not be able to do any transaction involving their properties once the survey stones are planted in those lands. The government has repeatedly said that the ongoing survey is only for a socio-impact assessment and not for land acquisition.
If completed, the SilverLine project will see a 529.45 km corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod with semi-high speed trains covering the distance in around four hours.
Both the Congress and the BJP oppose the project citing the massive cost which they say will be in excess of Rs 1.50 lakh crore. The critics also point out the environmental and economic disaster the project is likely to cause.
