Vizhinjam Port Project | SabrangIndia

Anti-Adani Kerala sea port protest: 3,000 booked over alleged police station attack at Vizhinjam, all-party meeting today

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 10:11:41 +0000

Fishermen belonging to the Thiruvananthapuram Latin Archdiocese burn their boats during a protest against the Vizhinjam port project, at Mulloor, Thiruvananthapuram, October 27, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

A large crowd of agitators is reported to have “attacked” the Vizhinjam police station in Thiruvananthapuram in protest against the construction of Adani port, allegedly injuring at least 29 policemen and damaging police vehicles reported PTI. Some unconfirmed media reports suggest that some priests of the Catholic church are supporting the protesters.

While more details are not yet known, PTI has stated that “the mob targeted the police station using sticks and bricks, and attacked police officers after a person was arrested and a few others were taken into custody in connection with the protests on November 26.” On Constitution Day, November 26, fisherfolk belonging to the minority community protested the loss of livelihood that would follow the construction of this project, something that has been opposed given that Trivandum already has a successful and viable sea port already.” At least 29 policemen have been injured and admitted to various hospitals,” a special branch police official told PTI. Another media report states that “as many as 36 policemen and around 20 agitators were injured in the violence, which rocked the Vizhinjam region on Sunday night.”

Archbishop among 15 priests booked for Adani port stir

Considering the sensitive situation prevailing in the area, the Kerala government has deployed more police officials from other districts. The agitators also reportedly attacked media-persons who were present at the site. ACV local channel camera-person Sherif M John was attacked by the protesters, who damaged his camera and snatched his cellphone. John has been shifted to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.Meanwhile, the district administration has initiated peace talks with the church authorities and its representative, Fr Eugene Perera, said the church wants to maintain peace. “We will speak to the protesters. I came here to resolve the matter in a peaceful manner,” he told the media.

Senior officials, including the district collector, city police commissioner and sub-collector, have called a reconciliatory meeting with the protesters at Kovalam animation centre. The church authorities and government officials are expected to talk to the media after the meeting. The police have also arranged tight security in the Vizhinjam region.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Police on Monday. November 28, registered two separate FIRs, In the second, a case against 3,000 persons in connection with the fishermen’s attack Sunday night on a police station at Vizhinjam, where they have been protesting against Adani Group’s Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited. The FIR said the protesters wanted the police to release five men who were taken into custody over Saturday’s violence and threatened to torch the policemen alive if they were not released. The police department incurred a loss of Rs 85 lakh, it said.

This FIR states that 3,000 people laid siege to the police station, held the officials hostage for several hours, vandalised the furniture and damaged several vehicles parked on the premises of the station. It said the protesters wanted to release five men who were taken into custody over Saturday’s violence and threatened to torch the policemen alive if they were not released. The police department incurred a loss of Rs 85 lakh from the attack, the FIR said.

The first FIR for Saturday’s “violence” filed by the police booked Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop Thomas Netto, auxiliary bishop R Kristudas and several priests of the archdiocese. The complaint states that the violence took place during the fishermen’s protest against Adani’s bid to resume work. Among those named in the FIR, names include at least 15 Catholic priests, including metropolitan archbishop Thomas J Netto and Perera, over the violence at Vizhinjam on Saturday. The archbishop was made the first accused in the FIR. However, in the second FIR, the police did not name anyone in the FIR registered in connection with Sunday’s attack on the police station.

Interestingly, the Vizhinjam Action Council Convener Fr Eugene Pereira alleged the violence was scripted by the ruling CPI(M) with the backing of external elements, including the BJP. “We are challenging the government to order a judicial probe into the incidents in the last two days. Police had provoked the fishermen. On Sunday, the police took into custody person who was not involved in Saturday’s attack. Later, when four others went to the station to enquire about the custody of a fisherman, they were also detained at the station, leading to the tension,’’ he said.

Kerala State Port Development Minister Ahamed Devarkovil said an all-party meeting would be held on Monday. “The district collector was asked to convene an all-party meeting to ensure peace in the region. He would also hold discussions with the agitators. The issue is coming up before the high court on Monday. The government would also consider the outcome from the high court before deciding further action. The agitators had given an assurance at the high court that they would not obstruct the construction. Now, that assurance to the court has been breached,’’ he said.

The ADGP M R Ajit Kumar told the Indian Express that the situation was under control and no untoward incident was reported on Monday. Of the five fishermen taken into custody, four of them were released on bail from the station, while another person was remanded in judicial custody, he said.

It may be recalled, that fishermen who have a successful livelihood that is being directly threatened, have been protesting against the Rs 7,500-crore project for more than the last four months, alleging that its construction caused massive sea erosion, leading to loss of livelihood and dwellings. The state government has recently formed an expert committee, but the fishermen’s demand for including their representative in the panel was rejected. They wanted the construction to be suspended until the study report, a demand rejected by the Government.

The agitation turned violent on Saturday after Adani Group, which wanted to resume the construction which had been stopped for the last three months. It resumed the construction Saturday in the wake of a high court order, which had prevented the agitators from obstructing the work and asked the state government to provide police protection. Over two dozen trucks which came with boulders for the construction of the breakwater had to be taken back from the project site due to the stiff resistance from the fishermen. A local people’s committee in favour of the project, under the aegis of Hindu organisations, has also joined the issue, against the agitating fishermen. Both sides had clashed on Saturday.

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Opposition to the Vizhinjam Port Project must be seen in the wider context of protecting coastal ecology and communities

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 08:00:46 +0000

Image courtesy: PTI

The wider discussion surrounding coastal areas often takes place in the context of their beauty and tourism potential. However, ecologists place more emphasis on how these are ecologically sensitive areas, whose development activities should be carefully monitored and regulated to prevent unintended serious and longer-term harm.

The need for this has increased further in times of climate change when several wider aspects need to be monitored carefully and when the need for protective policies has increased further. In particular, the increasing frequency and intensity of cyclones is a very worrying aspect of coastal life related to climate change and anything which increases further the harm caused by cyclones is best avoided.

A second aspect of coastal life is that traditional fisherfolk and coastal communities, the children of the sea, so to say, have experienced increasing injustice and marginalisation during recent decades. Due to mechanisation trends and the entry of big capital, the livelihoods of small and cottage-scale traditional fishers were eroded while big tourism and other coastal developments also tried to marginalise them. Gradually their place in the beaches and shores which had been in their ancestral home has been made more precarious, so much so that even when they were devastated by cyclones, some of the rehabilitation was within the framework of such marginalisation. Thus, clearly traditional fisherfolk and coastal communities are much in need of justice-based interventions and policies.

Keeping in view all these considerations, coastal areas need ecologically protective and justice-based policies, with much emphasis also on careful, unbiased monitoring of the changing situation, and protection from sea-level rise, coastal storms and coastal erosion.

It is only in this wider context that the debate on the massive ongoing development projects such as the Adani group’s Vizhinjam seaport, located at a short distance from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, should be seen. This massive seaport, or transshipment container terminal, has faced sustained opposition from local fisher and coastal communities spread over many villages prompting much debate on this under-construction project.

It is a big enough project in its ongoing first phase, but if its future development plans are included, then it becomes a truly massive project which should be properly evaluated keeping in view the current priorities of coastal areas. Another factor that must be kept in consideration is that Kerala has already become a very high disaster-prone region in recent times. Several experts have attributed this. in large part, to indiscriminate construction activities, apart from the overall high risks associated with climate change such as those relating to more highly concentrated and heavy rains.

Keeping in view all these factors a massive project like Vizhinjam does not appear to be justified in these times. It is apparent from the intense and sustained opposition of the local fisher community that they strongly feel, on the basis of their actual experiences as well as their understanding of local conditions, that their sustainable livelihoods are being badly eroded and made much riskier and hazardous by this project.

The wider risk is that the various constructions of the project can increase the damage to some surrounding areas at the time of cyclones. The construction works and the building materials required by then may lead to increase in quarrying in vulnerable nearby areas where even the existing smaller quarrying has led to adverse impacts. The project can also accelerate the rate of ongoing sea erosion processes. In fact, an important question is why such a massive project was started in a place where sea erosion was already considered to be a serious threat.

Hence while evaluations have been taken up already, it appears that important possible adverse factors were not taken note of adequately. Hence the demand of local communities for stopping this work till a more comprehensive and unbiased evaluation can be taken up in a transparent manner, involving them and their representatives, appears to be well justified. The best available and latest scientific information and studies can be utilized for such a comprehensive and unbiased evaluation, the best of experts can be consulted, but at the same time the immensely valuable knowledge of local people, particularly the elders among them who have known the sea and the coast all their life, should also be utilized properly as this can really contribute to a better understanding. This comprehensive evaluation should be conducted in a highly transparent way and can be completed in about six months or so. Until such time that this evaluation can be completed, most work on this project should be stopped. In the course of this comprehensive reappraisal the terms of the agreement reached by the government with the company should also be re-examined in a transparent way from the perspective of protecting and promoting public interest only.

*Views expressed are the author’s own. The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now.

Other articles by Bharat Dogra:

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