Fisherfolk stir: Vizhinjam port to be blocked from sea today

Thiruvananthapuram: The fisherfolk, who have been laying siege to the under-construction of the Vizhinjam port on land, announced their decision to intensify their protest by blocking it from the sea as well.

The decision was announced before a TV channel by one of the priests of the Latin Archdiocese two days after the state government failed to persuade them to withdraw the agitation.

The priest said that from Monday as fisherfolk protest on land in front of the Vizhinjam port gates, others from their community would block the port from the sea using their boats.

He said that the protest would not be withdrawn till all of their seven demands are met.

He said that while the state government said it would meet five of their demands, it was only an oral assurance and they wanted it in writing.

The priest also said that the construction of the port should be stopped and a study be carried out regarding its environmental impact and representatives of the fisherfolk, who are experts in such matters, be also consulted.

He also said that subsidy on kerosene, as provided by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, should also be given by the Kerala government to the fisherfolk who are facing severe financial constraints.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), a powerful church body, on Sunday declared its full support to the coastal residents “who are fighting for their survival and the Thiruvananthapuram Latin Archdiocese which is leading their struggle”.

In a statement, the KCBC said the people living in the coastal belt were going through “a very serious situation” and urged the authorities to take a democratic and constructive approach towards the people’s struggle for their survival.

The state government had held talks with the protesters on Friday hours after a tense situation prevailed in the Vizhinjam port area as hundreds of fisherfolk, mainly women from the nearby coastal hamlets, pushed their way into the under-construction port site demanding the authorities to address their long-pending demands regarding livelihood issues.

A large number of coastal people have been staging an intense protest outside the main entrance of the multi-purpose seaport, located at nearby Mulloor, since last week pressing their seven-point charter of demands including to stop the construction work and to conduct a coastal impact study in connection with the multi-crore project.

The protesters have been alleging that the unscientific construction of groynes, the artificial sea walls known as “pulimutt’ in local parlance, as part of the upcoming Vizhinjam port was one of the reasons for the increasing coastal erosion in the district.

(With inputs from PTI)