The Sabari Railway Action Council (SRAC) attached to Desiya Janajagratha Parishad (DJP) has alleged that certain quarters were trying to sabotage the proposed Sabri Rail Project.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, Raju Abraham, MLA, SRAC chairman, Aji B.Ranni, general convener and M.A.Latheef Kulathooppuzha, vice-chairman, alleged that the move to close down the office which was opened in Pala to complete the land acquisition procedures should be taken as a covert design to scuttle the project.
The land acquisition for the much sought-after Sabari Rail project has almost been completed in Ernakulam and Idukki districts. The move to close down the office at Pala came to the fore when authorities started land acquisition procedures in Kottayam district, they alleged.
The SRAC has brought out a brochure to make the common masses aware of the importance of Sabari Rail project and the development it would bring to the hilly tracts of Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts.
The brochure says the proposal for the Sabari Rail was first raised in the Parliament by Prof Kurien in 1989. The project was approved by the Union Ministry of Railways when it was further pursued by Prof Kurien and the former Muvattupuzha MP, P.C.Thomas, in 1995, says Mr Aji.
The former Union Ministers of State for Railways, O.Rajagopal and E.Ahamed, have strongly supported the Sabari Rail project and the State Government too have extended active support to facilitate the land acquisition for its materialisation in a time-bound manner, he said.
The Union Cabinet had also cleared the Sabari Rail project, setting apart Rs 550 crore for the same in 1995.
The proposed project that envisaged a rail link between Angamaly and Punalur via Kalady, Malayattoor, Kothamangalam, Perumbavur, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Pala, Ponkunnam, Kanjirappally, Erumely, Ranni, Pathanamthitta, Konni, Pathanapuram and Achenkovil would be of great help for the overall development of the State, especially the eastern hilly tracts.
He said the proposed rail route would be a boon to the tens of thousands of Ayyappa devotees coming from different parts of the country to Sabarimala every year.
The action council leaders say that the proposed rail project would also help tapping the eco-tourism potential of the hilly tracts in a better way, besides boosting trade and transportation facility for various hill products and cash crops like tea, spices, rubber, etc.
They said the extent of land acquisition and evacuation of families for the proposed rail project was far less, compared to that for a national highway project.
The SRAC leaders have called upon the Union and State Government to intervene in the matter and take steps to complete the project in a time-bound fashion.
