Thiruvananthapuram : BJP is up again with its stale election bluff, this time for Kerala, at a cost of Rs 20,000 crores. The grand promise is in line with trick BJP uses to ensure Lok Sabha seats in the northern states. Question is, how will BJP roll out 20,000 crore project when it opposes a much cheaper 2000 crore SliverLine rail project in State.
According to BJP, trains on the new track will run at 160 km per hour like it does on a single track in the Delhi – Agra sector. In truth, for a state with 626 curves, that kind of speed is simply impossible. Taking into account the problems involved in trying to lay a third track on the Shornur – Ernakulam route, the project was long abandoned. Moreover, even if one were to build tracks after straightening out curves, several stations will become redundant.
Trains presently run at 57 km per hour and even if a third track is laid consuming decades, speed of 160 km per hour is out of question. Even track doubling work is yet to complete in Kerala, not to mention the hardships it’s causing. And, the BJP that conveniently rolled back its Nemom terminal project, now boasts it will lavish Rs 20,000 crores on Kerala.
