Kerala: Track doubling in no man's land

Kochi:  The Southern Railway is finding the going tough when it comes to track-doubling works along the coastal line. If non-availability of red soil for landfilling was the main hurdle for long, its effort to resume works on the Ernakulam-Alappuzha section has now hit a roadblock with residents demanding approach road and higher compensation among others. The railways initiated survey for land acquisition on the 20-km long Kumbalam-Thuravoor section after the works stopped for over five years due to fund shortage and lack of raw materials for landfilling.

The plan was to acquire eight-metre land on the western side of the existing track. As part of this, the boundary laying exercise had begun in the stretch when the residents resorted to protest. “The land acquisition is set to affect nearly 600 families living along the stretch. The main dem-and is for an approach at regular intervals thro-ughout the section. Other-wise, the families living on the western side of the track have no means to reach the main roads,” said K.V. Padmanabhan, vice-president of Kerala Coastal Railway Land Lo-sers Association (KCR-LA).

Its members are set to conduct a dharna and submit a memorandum containing their demands to the chief administrative officer in Ernakulam on August 3. However, what irked the residents is the railways laying survey stones inside house compounds of individuals without even serving a notice. “They are saying the notification is out. However, last time (when the existing track was set up), they followed the procedures. Now one fine morning they are laying the survey stones and digging up plots without acquiring the land. No talks were held so far regarding the compensation,” said M.V. Xavier, a native of Chandiroor, who is set to lose his shop.

A senior railway officer said currently the boundary laying exercise is going on, and the actual land acquisition is to be carried out by the state government. “We’re expecting the detailed estimate to be ready soon so that the real groundwork can start,” he said.