K-Rail stone laying put off following strong protests at Chottanikkara
The Hindu
Around 70 houses likely to be affected in panchayat by land acquisition for project
People in Chottanikkara, near Kochi, protested strongly against the laying of survey stones for the SilverLine semi high-speed rail project in the panchayat on Wednesday. A resident of the panchayat said a strong posse of police personnel were deployed in the forenoon as revenue officials came to lay the stones. However, residents in ward six (Kidangayam and Tehkkineth Nirappu) protested against the move with the support of United Democratic Front (UDF) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists.
Police sources said no one has been arrested in connection with the protest and stone laying has now been put off following the protest.
A spokesman for the UDF said former MLAs V. J. Paulose and V.P. Sajeendran and Mohammed Shiyas, District Congress Committee president, were among those who led the protest against the move by officials to lay boundary stones for land acquisition.
It is learnt that around 70 houses will be affected in the panchayat initially by the land acquisition for the project. However, creating a buffer zone for the project would affect more residents, said the UDF spokesperson.
Former MP and Kerala Congress working chairman P.C. Thomas said officials who are appointed to lay survey stones and the police appeared to be playing hide-and-seek.
He said here on Wednesday that officials and the police ran away after seeing protests by a large group of people against the project. He claimed that he had witnessed the situation in Chottanikkara on Wednesday.
He said Minister for Fisheries Saji Cherian had said there would be no buffer zone for the K-Rail project. However, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said there would be a buffer zone for the project. The K-Rail authorities had said there would be a 10-metre buffer zone on both sides while the Detailed Project Report said there would be a 30-metre buffer zone, he added.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.