Kollam: The ongoing dispute between the Railways and the Kollam Corporation over land at Karbala is hindering several development projects in the Thiruvananthapuram Division of Southern Railway, including the soon-to-launch Vande Metro services. If the current impasse is not resolved quickly, many key projects may be derailed, negatively impacting commuters in Kerala.

The land in question is located near the railway foot overbridge on the railway station-Chemman Mukku road in Kollam. The Railways is currently constructing a new shed for the maintenance of MEMU trains. In May 2024, trees on this land were felled for this purpose. However, the Corporation intervened, claiming rights over the land, and legally halted the construction work. At one point, the dispute escalated to the extent that a driver of an excavator was arrested.

Although conciliatory talks were held between Dr. Manish Thaplyal, Divisional Railway Manager of the Thiruvananthapuram Division, Southern Railway, and Corporation officials, these discussions failed to yield any positive results. Consequently, the area has become a dumping yard for waste collected from various parts of the Kollam Corporation, with pieces of wood brought in from other locations. Food waste from hotels and bakeries is being indiscriminately dumped here, turning the site into a large, foul-smelling trash heap.

Setback for Vande Metro Project

The Vande Metro trains, designed to ease the burden of daily commuters in urban areas, are set to begin operations soon. The Railways plans to conduct maintenance for the Vande Metro trains, which are a modernized version of the Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) trains. To facilitate maintenance, including cleaning, the Railways must construct new tracks on the disputed land. If this land is not made available, the project may need to be relocated to another district.