Thiruvananthapuram: After weeks of eyeballing each other over the plan to construct a bypass road that cuts through pristine paddy fields in Keezhattoor in north Kerala, the farmers who were opposing the project and the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist appear to be closing in on a compromise.
The protest by farmers, which has come to be known as ‘Vayal kili’ (literally, paddy birds), caught the fancy of the general public in Kerala, who have been debating the issue on social media, opening up the CPM to widespread criticism.
The issue reached a flashpoint a few days ago when some miscreants set fire to a makeshift platform put up by the farmers to keep a vigil on the paddies. That incident was followed by stone-pelting at the residence of the farmers’ leader, Suresh Keezhattoor, which further stoked anger against the CPM and also against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan who has strongly backed the road project.
The chief minister insisted the issue had been blown out of proportion and that 56 of the 60 families whose lands were to be acquired for the project were in favour of it. However, the protesters said that the chief minister’s claim was a lie.
Matters took a worse turn when minister for public works, G. Sudhakaran, said the agitators were “not birds, but vultures”, prompting political observer and lawyer Jaishankar to comment that Keezhattoor could turn out to be another Singur for the CPM, referring to the party’s debacle in West Bengal state after it tried to acquire land in Singur.
On Saturday, a compromise appeared to be near, with Sudhakaran writing to the federal government and the National Highways Authority of India, which will construct the road, asking whether it would be possible to construct an elevated highway to save the paddy fields.
While that possibility is explored, the CPM set about organising a rally in Keezhattoor on Saturday evening, even as the farmers were to be joined by environmentalists and others on Sunday in a counter rally demanding that the paddy fields be protected.
