KOCHI: Protests against K-Rail continued to rock the state on Monday, with men and women cutting across political affiliations up in arms against installation of survey stones. In Ernakulam, K-Rail officials faced stiff resistance at Thekkineth Nirappu on the Chottanikkara-Puthencruz MLA Road towards Thiruvaniyoor, as over 100 protesters shouted slogans and blocked the vehicle carrying survey stones.
“They [officials] came at about 9:30am... due to the strong resistance from the residents and local politicians, they had to leave without installing any survey stones,” said Reez Puthenveettil, adding that there were about 300 police personnel at the spot. “They returned at about 2:30pm, but people rushed in from all around and thwarted their plans.”
Reez, who will lose his house if the K-Rail project materialises, noted that the current route alignment passed through a residential area, and would also swallow huge tracts of paddy fields. “Unlike many other places where paddy fields lie fallow, cultivation has been on in full swing here,” he added.
“The paddy fields and the ponds through which the K-Rail tracks will be laid have been acting as natural stormwater conduits and prevented flooding of the area. But once the project comes through, the embankments that will be built for the protection of the tracks will act as barriers and cause inundation of nearby areas.”
Reez said the protesters were prepared for a long haul, as most people set to be displaced due to the project lived in a low-income colony. “Here, people have built houses on three- or two-cent plots,” he added. “They don’t have the financial capability to build another house. We will not allow anyone to lay the stones in our area.”