Monday witnessed boats carrying fish workers laying siege to the Adani port construction site from the sea.
Protestors laying siege to under construction Adani Vizhinjam international seaport on Monday from the sea. (South First)
The massive protests against the ₹7,500-crore Vizhinjam international deep-sea port project, being developed by the Adani Group off the Thiruvananthapuram coast, took a new turn on Monday, 22 August, when the protesting fish workers blocked its construction activities from the sea as well.
The protest, led by the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram — which has been standing with the coastal communities affected by the project — saw several fishing boats carrying workers laying siege to the under-construction breakwater of the project.
However, the Adani Group has kept the construction works suspended for the last week because of the high-voltage protests.
Monday marked the seventh day of the agitation, and those who protested on the shores climbed over barricades and broke the lock on the project’s main gate.
A massive protest rally with over 500 vehicles was organised in the morning, and the protest using boats was flagged off after that.
Protestors in front of the construction site on Monday. (South First)
The novel modes of protests are being undertaken even as the state government is pressuring the Latin Catholic Church to reach a truce facilitating the construction activities.
The protestors said they would not end the agitations until the government accepted all their demands, including suspension of the construction activities until an independent scientific committee conducted comprehensive studies on the port’s environmental, social, and livelihood impacts. They want all the assurances from the government in writing.
Massive protests in front of the Vizhinjam Adani port under construction on Monday. (South First)
The agitators also demanded a subsidy on kerosene, as provided by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) 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 in “a dire situation”, and urged the authorities to take a democratic and constructive approach to the people’s struggle for survival.
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