Former chief engineer of Indian Railway claims that the social impact of the project was not studied.
Former chief engineer of Indian Railway claims that the social impact of the project was not studied.
Alok Verma, former chief engineer at Indian Railway, stated that the SilverLine semi-high speed rail project costing 63,000 crore poses a serious threat to Kerala’s socio-economic and environmental fields.
While addressing a State level cultural meeting, he said that the poorly-conceived project would be a path to hell. He was speaking at a Monday evening event organised here by a conclave representing various organisations under the banner Kerala Samsthana Prathirodha Samithi. I wonder how the State government has presented such a disaster project as one that would be Kerala’s pride. He said that the detailed project report did not include hydrological and geological surveys.
According to Mr. Verma, the proposed alignment was full curves and gradients much like the rail link from Srinagar. He deemed it suspicious that a broad-gauge track was being converted into a standard gauge track, as this was originally proposed for the SilverLine project. He said that the SilverLine became a separate project that would not improve or decongest existing rail networks. What was originally proposed as an elevated viaduct ended up having embankments on 80% of its length. He said that it showed that planners preferred to ignore the destruction caused by the 2018 floods and subsequent flooding. He added that the social effects of the project were also not studied.
K. Aravindakshan (Samithi president) presided over this event. Retired judges, technocrats as well as lawyers, sociocultural and environmental activists, priests, and teachers participated in the event. Two women were honored for their protests against the laying survey stones for the project at cenral Kerala. A resolution was also passed at the event denouncing attempts to destroy communal harmony in the State.