‘Vande Bharat’ train reached Palakkad at 11.45 am on April 14 morning and reached Kochuveli, Thiruvananthapuram district, by 6 pm. It was a trial run. When it starts operation, travel from Thiruvananthapuram, the Southern end, to Kannur, the Northern district, will be a matter of hours.
The people of Kerala have accepted it as a Vishu gift; the State celebrated Vishu on April 15. “Vishu kainettam” is a tradition in Kerala. The elders in the family give money to the younger ones on the auspicious day of Vishu. Therefore, Keralites have accepted Vande Bharat as the Vishu gift.
BJP workers, leaders and the common people accorded an enthusiastic welcome to the train at every station from Palakkad to Kochuveli. Stations were decorated with flowers. The crew members were offered bunches of yellow konna flowers, part and parcel of the traditional Vishukkani. Receptions were led by State leaders of the BJP. Union Minister V Muraleedharan led the reception in Thiruvananthapuram.
Vande Bharat is a befitting reply to the idea of ‘K-Rail’ aka ‘Silverline’ proposed by the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPM supremo. Knowledgeable people, environmentalists, scientists and all political parties other than LDF constituents opposed the proposal lock, stock and barrel. They saw it as a dangerous threat to the environment, ecosystem and financial situation of the State. It was a one lakh crore project.
According to reports, Kerala’s debt has increased by 80 per cent in 5 years. The increase was from Rs 1,86,453.86 cr in 2016 – 17 to 3,35,641.15 cr in 2021 – 22, the reports suggest.
The daily debt of Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), a State-owned road transport system, was reported to be Rs 4.37 cr during the months of October, November and December 2021, with Rs 4.39 cr and Rs 8.76 cr as income and expenditure, respectively. Expenditure includes pensions and salaries. Media reports say it was disclosed as a reply to an Opposition MLA’s question. None has claimed, so far, that situation has improved since then. On top of all, KSRTC management is not able to disburse employees’ salaries and the pension of the retired personnel regularly.
Naturally, the critics of K-Rail questioned the resolution of the Government to go for a one lakh cr project when they (Government of Kerala) failed to run even KSRTC properly and satisfactorily. K-Rail required the acquisition of 1383 hectares of land, including 1198 hectares of private land which meant displacements of thousands of people resulting in the loss of their job and agricultural land.
Environmentalists had warned that the project would defile the environment and ecosystem of the entire State. Still, Government stuck to its gun; even after the trial run of the Vande Bharat train, they did not change their stand. BJP had blamed the idea behind this unacceptable K-Rail as blatant corruption in the form of various kickbacks.
BJP State President K Surendran said that the Vande Bharat train would be a shot in the arm for Kerala’s development. He thanked the PM and the Union Railway Minister for the Vishu gift. He lambasted both the ruling LDF and Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) for viewing party politics in the Vande Bharat train.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan and LDF have been keeping on stating that Vande Bharat would never touch Kerala. K Surendran said that CM should realise, at least now, that development is the politics BJP plays. PM Modi has allotted Vande Bharat No: 13 to Kerala; it denotes the attention, our PM extends to Kerala with respect to the State’s development. This is just the beginning.
Democratic Youth Front of India (DYFI), the youth wing of CPM, is up in arms against Vande Bharat as it puts an end to the CM’s one lakh cr project. In other words, CM’s dream project appears to be heading to a mere dream. Congress is all unhappy too. Why they fear is obvious: Kerala’s gain is to BJP’s advantage.
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