The coastal protest that stalled the construction of the Vizhinjam International
Transshipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, will enter its 100th day on
October 27th. The protest began on July 20 in front of the secretariat and later shifted to Mulloor, the main entrance to the port is located, on August 16.
Since them work on the port construction had come to a standstill. Adani group which
owns the port approached the Kerala High court for police protection. Court
also ordered protection but the Kerala government appears to be wary of
estranging a powerful vote bank.
The protest has sharply divided public opinion and posed a challenge to the
government. Even when Ports Minister Ahammad Devarkovil expressed the hope of
commissioning the port by next Onam, there is less clarity on the protest
coming to an end anytime soon.
The state government has declined the demand for halting the project to study its impact on the nearby coast. Yet, the protestors led by the Latin archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram have no plans of vacating the protest site. They are now openly speaking of stopping the port work.
On October 27th, the Latin Church plans to strengthen the stir by holding protests
in the land and the sea. They have chosen Vizhinjam and Mulloor for the land
protest during the day. At the same time, the fishermen will enter the sea at
Muthalapozhi, located 40km away from the port, to protest. Addressing the
issues concerning the Muthalapozhi harbour is one of the seven demands raised
by the protestors before the government. The fishermen community blamed the
unscientific construction of Muthalapozhi harbor for the rise in sea accidents.
Muthalappozhi is also a strategic location for carrying construction materials
for the port, by sea.
Thiruvananthapuram Latin archdiocese vicar-general and protest general convenor Eugine H Pereira said the coastal people had no other option but to fight for their survival. “We have revived our protest after the pandemic. We demanded that the Port project should be stopped because it is going to be an ecological and economic disaster. Several independent agencies have already stated that the project is unviable and would spell doom for the
coastal folks,” he said.
The Church has been mobilizing protests through the parishes under it. members to strengthen the protest, during the Mass last Sunday. Their road blockades disrupted the traffic movement in the city and resulted in people missing their flights on October 17.
