On March 17 morning this year, a motley crowd of spirited local people at Madappally, near Changanassery, converged in front of the Reethupally church. Sitting down in a circle, they formed a human wall against attempts by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (K-Rail) to lay survey stones for the SilverLine project in their locality.
A police team, which soon rushed to the spot, launched an indiscriminate assault on the protesters, even dragging a woman among them through the ground. The episode seized enough media coverage to appear like a moment in the making, as it amplified outrage over the semi-high-speed rail project across the State.
