SilverLine: Oppn intensifies protests, govt unmoved

Thiruvananthapuram: Protests by local residents and opposition political groups against the CPI(M)- led government’s flagship SilverLine project continued to rock various parts of Kerala on Tuesday even as the Left party asserted that they would go ahead with the ambitious initiative.

Intensified protests by local residents comprising women and children prevented authorities from laying survey stones at Nattassery village in Kottayam district and Thirunavaya in Malappuram district. The people withdrew from the protest sites after the authorities announced that they are suspending the process temporarily. In protest against the government’s “adamant stand”, Youth Congress workers symbolically laid a survey stone on the premises of Kottayam district collectorate after breaking the police barricades.

Leaders of the Congress and CPI(M) traded charges against each other over the issue. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the government would not surrender to such tactics.