Construction work at Vizinjam international transhipment project in Thiruvananthapuram district was disrupted on Tuesday after fishermen blocked roads to the project site demanding proper compensation and rehabilitation package.
Protestors gathered outside the project site holding black flags saying their concerns were not addressed, and their lives were at risk. Black flags were hoisted in all Latin Catholic churches in solidarity with striking fishermen.
Due to large-scale construction and breakwater project as part of the port project being carried out by Adani group, fishermen alleged that their livelihood was hit.
Bishop Eugine H Pereira said successive governments had made many promises and announced several relief packages to lift the fishermen community, but nothing happened on the ground and their living conditions were deteriorated.
“We have been knocking on many doors. We were forced to hit the street after all our wails fell on deaf ears. We will intensify our stir in coming days,” he said.
The issue was further aggravated after port minister Ahammad Deverkiol said many people came from many other areas and local people of Vizinjam were not bothered about the protest. “Majority of protestors are not from Vizinjam,” he said.
Bishop Pereira slammed the minister, saying: “The minister is out of his senses. In fact, he has no idea about either the port or living conditions of fishermen.”
{{/usCountry}}Bishop Pereira slammed the minister, saying: “The minister is out of his senses. In fact, he has no idea about either the port or living conditions of fishermen.”
{{/usCountry}}Later, transport minister Antony Raju said the government had already allocated 18 acres of land to build dwelling units and flats for the displaced people and work will be started soon. “The government is committed to addressing their problems,” he said. But the protestors said they will only talk to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Last week, protesting fishermen had laid a siege to the state secretariat.
Conceived three decades ago, the port with 20 metre natural depth and 12 nautical miles away from the international ship channel is expected to be commissioned by Oct 2023.
Now, the country is depending heavily on Colombo, Singapore and Dubai mother ports for transhipment of heavy cargos incurring additional cost and time and once Vizhinjam, 16 km south of the state capital, is commissioned it will bridge the gap.
Once it is fully functional, the largest mother ship of the world can be anchored here easily, said port officials, adding five mother ships can be berthed at a time in Vizhinjam port.