‘Kerala’s dream project SilverLine, which is primarily designed to ease long hours of commuting, receives
bouquets and brickbats as its people are divided over the concept on party lines’
Travelling from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram or vice versa through swathes of lush green paddy fields and coconut groves, by the foothills, by crossing dozens of rivers and scores of rivulets and along backwaters at a speed of about 200 kmph is the most beautiful concept ever conceived for the state of Kerala.
It’s a wonder that the journey from one end of the state to the other end will be completed in less than four hours. For instance, if a passenger boards the train from Kasaragod at 6 am, he/she will reach Thiruvananthapuram before 10 am after covering most of the districts. So convenient and comfortable
that professionals, businessmen, politicians and others could save precious time and energy so that they would be able to perform their duties in the rest of the day without fail.
The 529.45 km SilverLine semi-high speed train having halts at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur besides the terminals is expected to greatly increase connectivity between various parts of the state.
SilverLine is primarily designed to ease long hours of commuting. Green or environment-friendly modes are claimed to be the characteristics of future travels in Kerala which is set to utilise more carbon-free energy for transport. In all likelihood, this semi high speed corridor will redefine decades-old concept of travelling in the state.
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One of a kind rail road project in the country, SilverLine is all about the convenience and comfort of people who commute on various purposes, the community of which is burgeoning to a large extent and the state’s growth in future will see the dividend paid.
And there would be no unnecessary overnight stay in guest houses or hotel rooms awaiting important appointments and meetings. Patients will not miss appointments to consult doctors, job seekers will not miss important interviews and any appointments with government officials and even ministers will
not go awry whether there are flash strikes or any other eventualities. Despite cost over burden and the hardships and sacrifices of the people affected by the project, SilverLine could be a lifeline of Kerala in the next decades if it is managed people friendly and eco-friendly.
Kerala’s dream and the government’s ambitious plan for the future has been projected to be a silver line in the development of the state. It is claimed that a standalone fast track will bring in a sea change in the infrastructural facilities of Kerala. It will not only connect all major cities in the state but also open the gate to developments in the hinterlands, claim its promoters.
However, the question whether the SilverLine corridor project will materialise after all the chaos still remains. It seems the Kerala society is divided into two over the mega project, exactly a vertical split. In reality, those who support the implementation of the project without delay and those oppose it citing financial, social and environmental impacts have taken cudgels against each other even in the public places. The two groups are
engaged in bitter verbal battles almost on a daily basis.
Unofficial debates, independent and separate analysis of project feasibility reports besides protests in the streets resulted in dirty, political mud-slinging. Activists and environmentalists who are up in arms against the corridor project have warned of hazardous consequences of such a massive work. Bouquets and brickbats abound in the social media mobilising people’s support for and against SilverLine. At last, people in the state appear to be virtually divided on political party lines.
The supposed land acquisition for its alignment, construction of numerous big and small bridges, a large number of underpasses, several tunnels, kilometres of elevated track, high-rise embankment covering maximum distance and even power supply have posed perplexing questions in the public domain. Critics argue that feasibility of the corridor is now under the scanner as the estimated expenditure it incurs and the
possible consequences of the destabilising engineering works all along the route can cause irreversible damage to the state’s economy and its environment.
In addition, compensation to properties and rehabilitation of the affected people will not happen as promised by the government, remark sceptics. A large number of families are going to suffer because their houses, institutions and lands come in the project alignment or its proximity, they say.
Environmentalists say the land is already fragile due to frequent floods, illegal and unscientific constructions, deforestation, large scale quarrying, extensive coastal erosion etc., will ill afford infrastructure development projects of this size. A small state with a little revenue and below average GDP as compared to many other states in the country which is surviving on foreign remittances, Kerala needs more viable transport projects in terms of expenditure, environmental damage and other long-term consequences, they opine.
Controversies apart, Kerala wants improved infrastructural facilities in the area of road as well as rail transport and should not lag behind other states, especially Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana which are far ahead in building and operating National Highways, Metros and fast trains.
In view of the slow pace of commuting by bus and trains across the state now, youth and teens are likely to stand for rapid progress in the vital sector as they love speed and faster movement whether it’s road or rail. They know very well that they will fail if they cannot keep pace with the increasing speed at which people are travelling and conducting business elsewhere in the country and abroad.
As we know, this is the age of science and space explorations and in this age, the speed is considered paramount. The whole world is experimenting devices for supersonic travelling from one part of the world to the other. Future generations will require ultramodern facilities for faster commuting and their concept of movement may put the predecessors to shame.
If it’s not today, tomorrow Kerala will be forced to desperately look for an alternative that could ensure faster, passenger- friendly, eco-friendly commuting. Educated women and men of Kerala will have to commute long distances daily to workplaces and unlike in the past, professionals, business men and others will be travelling frequently within the state and outside. Kerala is no longer an agrarian society living in a cocoon.
BY: KS Rajagopal
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