Even as the Supreme Court and the Kerala High Court gave the go-ahead to the ongoing social impact assessment for land acquisition for the semi-high-speed rail project in Kerala, the emotional protest of the people continued on Wednesday also with many even staging threats to end life by suicide.
In Kollam district, a section of people raised stiff resistance against the laying of demarcation stones.
Some families reportedly threatened to end life by suicide by opening cooking gas cylinders and by hanging. Owing to the protest the officials withdrew without laying the demarcation stones.
Even as the CPM and its youth wing DYFI were carrying out door-to-door campaigns to address the concerns of the people, it also faced stiff resistance in many places. Video footage of local people emotionally raising protests against the CPM-DYFI delegation comprising an MLA in the Alappuzha district also came out.
CPM firm on stand
Meanwhile, the ruling CPM’s leadership remained firm on its stand against the protests.
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stated that the demarcation stones being uprooted by the agitators would be relaid by the party workers with the support of people who back the project.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress countered it stating that the party would continue to uproot the demarcation stones.
As the CPM national party congress is scheduled to be held in the state next week, the ongoing tensions across Kerala against the project would also come up for discussion.
Already CPM is being accused of maintaining a double standard as the party that opposed the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train service was now taking forward the semi-high-speed rail in Kerala.
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