The groundswell of opposition against the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project in central Kerala saw the police swing into action on Thursday when hundreds of people blocked the attempts of the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (K-Rail) authorities to lay survey stones for the project at Madappally, near Changanassery.
The incidents began to unfold at 9 a.m. when a team of officials, accompanied by the police, reached the location. A group of protesters, led by Babu Kuttanchira, leader of the protest council, formed a human wall and blocked their vehicles even as the authorities stood their ground.
Meanwhile, a vehicle that brought the marker stones was forced to leave following alleged stone throwing by the protesters. It, however, returned to the spot with a heavy police security.
