Activist Medha Patkar opposes K-Rail project in Kerala

KOCHI: Medha Patkar, social activist and chief of the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), on Sunday opposed the K-Rail project, a dream project of the LDF government in Kerala while talking to the media in Kochi.

She said that given the critical situation of environment in the state after back-to-back floods and landslides, a proper study needs to be conducted on environment and its impact on society.

The social activist added that there has to be a proper study on the social impact and without such studies giving clearance to the project was not advisable in the state.
Patkar in a scathing attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the latter was not easily approachable and that this was not good for the Left unity against communalism that the CPM has been propagating.

The project proposed at a whopping Rs 1.25 lakh crore is a semi-high speed rail corridor running from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod and the state government and proponents of the project have been claiming that the high-speed train will cover a distance of more than 600 km in four hours.

Stiff opposition to the project has already come with opposition Congress and the BJP protesting against the project and even in the CPM district conferences which are being conducted, scathing criticism has come against the project.

The CPM has also gone on the offensive with the party's Kannur District Secretary, M V Jayarajan, saying that the former would protest against those who are opposing the silver line project.