Amidst the raging protests against the SliverLine semi-high-speed rail project across the State, a war of words broke out between Kottayam MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and Minister for Culture and Fisheries Saji Cherian with the former accusing the K-Rail authorities of altering the rail alignment to benefit the Minister.
Addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the alignment of the proposed railway line was altered in Mulakkuzha grama panchayat, Chengannur, as recently as December 2021 to exempt the Minister's residence. To back his argument, he also showed two sets of drawings of the railway line alignment.
“There have been some changes in the alignment compared to an earlier drawing of the alignment uploaded on the K-Rail website. Some houses and other buildings in the Kurichimuttam area, including Mulakkuzha grama panchayat office, a temple and others, which were on the left side as per the earlier drawing, are now on the right side of the railway line. The Minister and the K-Rail managing director should make it clear who are the beneficiaries of these changes,” he said.
Minister denies charges
The Minister, however, rubbished the allegations and accused Mr. Radhakrishnan of misleading people. “When an alignment for the railway line is prepared from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod, it is impossible to exclude Saji Cherian’s house alone. If the line is coming through my property, I am more than ready to surrender it,” the Minister said.
Mr. Cherian also challenged Mr. Radhakrishnan to release the documents in his possession to substantiate the accusation.
