The SilverLine Viruddha Samara Samithi, which is spearheading a struggle against the semi high-speed rail project, on Monday announced plans to strengthen its protests.
The forum will hold public meetings in front of the District Collectorate at Kottayam on December 12 and at Eraviperoor, Pathanamthitta, on December 13. The forum leaders will hold a fast in front of the Secretariat on December 25, Christmas day.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s repeated statements regarding the State government’s plans to move forward with the project has sparked concern among the people of Kerala. The State government was turning a blind eye to study reports which warn that the project would entail large-scale eviction of people and ecological destruction, S. Rajeevan, State general convener of the forum said in a statement.
The government’s plans to go ahead with the project by ignoring its environmental, economic, and social impacts was tantamount to playing with fire, he said. The protests against this project at Kattilapeedika, Kozhikode, has completed three years, at Azhiyoor 1,030 days, and at Madapally, Kottayam, 600 days.
