Locals obstruct survey work for Vallarpadam ICTT rail line

Kochi, Nov 13 (UNI) Protesting against the proposed rail alignment of the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, locals in the Vaduthala area here today sat on 'dharna' to obstruct a team of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL) from carrying out survey work.

Spearheaded by the Jankeeya Samiti, Vaduthala, the protestors, including women, said the alignment would lead to displacement of nearly 800 families.

They demanded that the rail line to the Vallarpadam ICTT be constructed along the Vembanad waterways instead of the residential Vaduthala and Mulavukadu areas.

A strong contingent of police had to be rushed to the area to keep the situation under control.

District Collector A P M Mohammad Hanish said the survey would be carried out once the protestors dispersed. The work should be over in three days, he told UNI.

Mr Hanish said the state government had rejected the alternative alignments proposed by the Vaduthala residents and decided last month to go ahead with the present alignment.

He said the state government would publish within two days the land acquisition notification for the rail line. It would incorporate the 'urgency' clause, under which the authorities could go in for acquisition without conducting a public hearing, he said.

The District Collector said land acquisition for the four-lane highway to Vallarpadam was going on in full swing. It was expected that the first portion of land of about 20 acre, would be handed over to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) by November 20.

Rail and road connectivity to the proposed ICTT were listed as pre-requisites by the Dubai Ports World, which had won the bid to construct and operate the Rs 2,000 crore international container transshipment terminal, the first in the country.

Construction work on the ICTT was scheduled to start next year and be completed by 2009. Preliminary work had gathered momentum with the Union Environment and Forests Ministry giving environmental clearance for the project last week. A high-level meeting, presided over by Mr T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, had on Saturday last reviewed the progress of the ICTT and other infrastructure projects scheduled to come up in Kochi.

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