On March 17 morning this year, a motley crowd of spirited local people at Madappally, near Changanassery, converged in front of the Reethupally church. Sitting down in a circle, they formed a human wall against attempts by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (K-Rail) to lay survey stones for the SilverLine project in their locality.
A police team, which soon rushed to the spot, launched an indiscriminate assault on the protesters, even dragging a woman among them through the ground. The episode seized enough media coverage to appear like a moment in the making, as it amplified outrage over the semi-high-speed rail project across the State.
Massive support
Solidifying around just one specific demand – withdraw the SilverLine project – protests have continued here since without a break till now. Besides the Opposition parties, support poured in from various organisations, including that of the Catholic Church, prompting the ruling CPI(M) to flag a purported attempt to rekindle the Liberation Struggle of the late 1950s.
As the strike completed 100 days on Thursday, the venue appeared as vibrant as it was when the protest began here. Mar Joseph Perumthottam, Archbishop of Changanassery, inaugurated the protests during the day while a host of senior politicians including Ramesh Chennithala, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, and P.C. Thomas were also present.
‘Lives disrupted’
Speaking on the occasion, the Archbishop said a unilateral approach by any government was unacceptable in an elected democracy. “A democratic government should listen to the people prior to implementing any project of this magnitude. If implemented as per the current plan, it will disrupt livelihoods of several families and hence, they should hold consultations with the people before rushing with the plan,” he said.
‘Acted as a catalyst’
Babu Kuttanchira, chairman of the protest council, contended that the Madappally agitation served as a catalyst to the Statewide strike against the SilverLine project and pointed to the attendance at the protest venue on Thursday as a testament of the agitation's success. As to where the movement will go from here, he asserted that there was no question of withdrawing it without the government backing off and settling the umpteen number of police cases booked against the protesters.
“While we are unsure of the fate of the SilverLine project, there is every chance of it coming back at some point and hence, we will have to remain alert,” he said.
