Hundreds of women gathered for a unique protest outside the Civil Station at Kakkanad on Wednesday morning.
Boycotting the daily household chores, the housewives broke earthen pots as a mark of protest against the alleged move of the State government to evict a second time already evicted people for the development of the Edappally-Moothakunnam National Highway 17 stretch.
The protest was organised by the NH-17 Joint Coordination Committee against the alleged move to evict over 1,000 families who were once evicted when land was acquired for widening the road by 30 metres years ago though not a single lane had been built on that land since then. The move to further acquire land by 15 metres was what infuriated the families.
In his inaugural address, social activist C.R. Neelakandan came down heavily on the ruling Left Democratic Front government for allegedly displacing thousands of families to convert public roads into toll-driven ones through the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model. He accused the CPI(M) of double standards saying how the party had demolished a toll plaza at Rajasthan in protest against the collection of toll.
Mr. Neelakandan urged the government to build 30-metre wide six-lane road on the already acquired land along the Edappally-Moothakunnam stretch and let the people live in peace.
Breaking the first pot, National Alliance of People’s Movement State coordinator Kusumam Joseph accused the Left government and the Chief Minister of arrogance in the name of development. The government’s move to destroy thousands of families and their properties to facilitate BOT model highway development was a dangerous ploy, she said. The government should tell where all these displaced people will live, Ms. Joseph said.
Hashim Chennampilly of the NH-17 Joint Coordination Committee.
