The Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation council on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding that the Union government reconsider the Railway Board's decision to abandon the ₹117-crore Nemom satellite coaching terminal project.
While the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) supported the resolution moved by Mayor Arya Rajendran, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stayed away from any discussion on the resolution in protest against the refusal to consider the party’s resolution demanding that the AIIMS project be implemented in the capital, instead of in Kozhikode.
Shocking
The resolution says that it is shocking that the coaching terminal project was shelved without any discussion. The public has a right to know the reasons and the persons behind the decision to drop a project, for which stone-laying was carried out with fanfare. The project was included in the Railway Budget of 2011-12, with the intention of reducing the overcrowding at Thiruvananthapuram Central, which is currently handling two-and-a-half times the original capacity of trains.
After prolonged queries from John Brittas, MP, the Railway Board informed him that after examining the proposal, the board had decided to drop the project. The resolution said that the decision is a continuation of the Railway's attitude of ignoring Kerala's demands.
‘Drop Agnipath’
Another resolution was passed demanding that the Union government withdraw the Agnipath scheme to recruit youngsters to the defence forces for shorter terms. The UDF supported the resolution, while the BJP councillors opposed it.
The BJP and the UDF councillors alleged that the administration had delayed the suspension of bill collector V.N. Sivaprasad, who was arrested by the Kadinamkulam police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for possession of drugs. The Opposition councillors alleged that his proximity to the Left unions had led to the delay in taking a decision on his suspension. However, the Mayor refuted this allegation and said that the Corporation had suspended him as soon as it was confirmed that he was remanded. Any decision to suspend an employee could be taken only based on a remand report, she said.
