Kerala Assembly to hold discussion on SilverLine project

The Kerala Assembly will on Monday afternoon hold a two-hour long discussion on the SilverLine project, as sought in a notice moved by some UDF MLAs, after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan agreed to the same.

Vijayan said that since the project was important for the future development of the state, he was open to discussing the project in the Assembly.

Subsequently, Speaker M B Rajesh said that as per the rules of the House, the discussions regarding the project would commence at 1 PM.

The notice for discussion was moved by several UDF MLAs as there have been widespread protests in various parts of the state by the general public against the survey being conducted to identify land for the project.

The Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that it was ''unscientific and impractical'' and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

The 530-km stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail -- a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.