Conspiracy to kill Sabari

The Sabari rail project was all talks but not real for eons. With the ascension of Ashwini Vaishnav as the railway minister, the project got a resurgence from its deathbed. PM Modi’s visit to the state last week was also viewed by many as a vital event to make a flurry of announcements needed to give the necessary facelift to the BJP in Kerala. Along with the many believed announcements were the prized Sabari project. However, Modi made some top announcements but omitted Sabari putting many in dismay.

Now, it has emerged that a lobby in the Pathanamthitta district was weaving plans to topple the project citing trite reasonings. The contrarian voices against Sabari say the project will travel only from Angamaly to Erumeli making it arduous for devotees to travel another 40km by road to Pamba. In reality, no such confirmation has been reached but the lobby tries to entrap a similar image to make politicians and experts differ from the Sabari project.

The group now suggests an alternative, the Chenganoor-Pamba elevated track. According to them, the project costs around Rs 12000 crore, threefold what it takes to complete Sabari. Meanwhile, Sabari project has completed seven kilometers of work spending a huge Rs 264 crores. Sabari project passes through isolated forest lands which makes it easier to receive approval from the environmental ministry. While Chenganoor-Pamba's elevated track is designed to pass through busy localities ergo forcing the authorities to reshift the people and acquire the plots which is no easy game.

The sudden awakening to stop the Sabari project elicits doubts. If it was purely a demand for railways to connect with Sabarimala, then why stop the Sabari project? The project can stay along with the elevated track scheme. However, the group wants to cut short the Angamali Sabari rail tack for reasons inexplicable. Little success was achieved after railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav slyly mentioned the elevated track as a possible alternative to Sabari. With all the talk emanating to distort the project, the people and experts look to what the state government wants to say on this issue.