Kozhikode
The collectorate premises here witnessed stormy scenes on Thursday when the police foiled the attempts by a group of Indian Youth Congress workers to stage a protest against the proposed SilverLine project. The activists, who marched to the collectorate with a plan to lay a symbolic survey stone in the area, were stopped at the main gate when they tried to cross the barricade, provoking the police.
Though tear gas shells and water cannons were used to disperse the protesters, it only intensified the protest. When a few sat on the road, another group of irate protesters crossed the barricade and barged into the collectorate compound.
The protesters led by T. Siddique, MLA, alleged that the government’s attempt was to create riots in the name of the SilverLine project by encroaching on private property with the support of the police and Revenue Department officials. They asserted that the survey stones laid without land owners’ consent would be removed on the spot.
The Youth Congress workers, who flayed the police action, claimed that the two rounds of grenades were burst without any provocation. They also warned that Kerala would witness a series of protests in the days to come and provocative action would not be able to suppress public sentiments against the project.
