Using red earth to fill metro medians draws flak

‘It is contrary to carbon-neutral claims of KMRL’

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), which claims it is striving for a carbon-neutral metro, is under fire for not addressing the negative carbon footprint left by filling of medians beneath the metro corridor with red earth and mud to landscape them. This is a stark deviation from the eco-friendly method that was being adopted to landscape a bulk of medians on the M.G. Road metro corridor. In this, the medians were filled with dried leaves, plants, coconut fronds and branches of trees that were felled. They would otherwise have been burnt in residential areas, causing air pollution, or left abandoned on the road side, obstructing road users. The metro agency had highlighted how this was a win-win situation for all stakeholders, while bringing about a carbon-neutral ecosystem in the greening drive.