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‘Construction can’t be halted’: HC pulls up protesters at Vizhinjam port site
The Adani group stated that the ongoing agitation crippled works for over two weeks and was turning into “a big threat to its employees and installations” as the police failed to take appropriate steps.
The Kerala high court on Monday pulled up the protesters agitating against the Vizhinjam mother port in Thiruvananthapuram saying that the “construction work cannot be halted like this”.
The court directed the protesters to raise their complaints on an appropriate forum.
Though the court on Friday had ordered the police to maintain law and order, Adani Port Private Limited and the contracting firm Howe Engineering Projects said the work was disrupted on Monday also. They said a big posse of policemen deployed at the work site remained mere spectators and allowed protesters to enter the port campus as usual.The court has posted the plea for detailed hearing on Wednesday and directed the government to file a reply.
The Adani group stated that the ongoing agitation crippled works for over two weeks and was turning into “a big threat to its employees and installations” as the police failed to take appropriate steps. But the counsel for Latin Catholic Diocese in Thiruvananthapuram said agitation was proceeding in a peaceful manner and fishermen were forced to hit the street after their repeated pleas fell on deaf ears.
The single bench of justice Anu Sivaraman orally observed that the agitation should not affect the ongoing work.“The protest can be registered, but it cannot affect the project. Protest can be registered in a lawful manner,” the court said, adding if the protesters have any complaints they can be raised on an appropriate forum.
The ongoing work for the multi-utility mother port was disrupted for two weeks after protesters entered the site demanding suspension of all works. They alleged large-scale construction and breakwater projects hit their livelihood and earlier promises on rehabilitation were not met by the government.
The fishing community under the leadership of Latin Catholic church diocese in the state capital has raised a seven-point demand to end their agitation. First is to stall all the works and conduct a fresh environment impact study, second is immediate rehabilitation of affected families, third is effective steps to mitigate sea erosion and tetrapod sea walls along coast, fourth financial help when weather warnings are issued, fifth more kerosene at subsidised rate, sixth compensation to the dead and those who lost their boats and nets and finally controlled dredging near Muthalapozhy which led to many mishaps.
Though the government held a series of talks with protesters but it failed to come to a conclusion. It insisted that work was started after getting all clearances and cannot be stopped when it entered a crucial stage. The first phase of the project is expected to be commissioned by October 2023.
