Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will not stop construction of Vizhinjam port. The Chief Minister clarified this in the Assembly. The Chief Minister said that as the construction of the port is nearing completion, the government is not averse to considering any reasonable demand raised except the demand to stop it. The Chief Minister stated this in response to Kadakampally Surendran’s attention. It is the government’s request that the concerned should understand this reality and immediately withdraw from the strike. The government hopes that they will be ready for that. The Chief Minister said that apart from the demands raised by the protestors, if there are other local concerns and problems, the government will also consider them.
The community of fishermen is facing many problems and challenges. That is why the government is giving great consideration to the problems of the coastal zone. The Chief Minister said that by understanding and understanding it and in the light of experience, the concerned parties should immediately withdraw from this strike. The construction of Vizhinjam International Port is an important project in progress in the coastal region of the state. It is expected that the first barge will arrive at the port by April 2023 and commercial operations could begin by October 2023. After completing all the necessary studies for the project, the contract was entered into and the construction work started.
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The Environmental Impact Assessment was conducted by an accredited agency of the Central Government. After examining the study report, the National Green Tribunal rejected the request to interfere with the approval. The tribunal had asked to study the deviations of 10 km each in the south and north of the project area and submit a report every six months. A monitoring cell was also formed to monitor the shoreline. Study and monitoring is ongoing accordingly. None of these have been found to cause coastal erosion as part of the project. The study also reports that there was sea leveling and coastal erosion in these areas even before the project started. The studies show that the claim that coastal erosion occurs as a part of port construction is also baseless.
At the same time, the government is sympathetic to the demands of the fishermen. Some of these are long-term and some are immediate. But a group has been protesting in front of the secretariat and around the Vizhinjam port construction area, mainly putting forward seven demands for the past few days. The government is taking action on most of the seven major demands raised by them. But the government cannot agree to the demand to stop the construction work of the port. These are the main demands raised by the protesters.
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1. Find a permanent solution to coastal erosion caused by construction of Vizhinjam International Port.
2. Relocate families who have lost their homes due to coastal erosion and live in camps on rent.
3. To rehabilitate those who have lost their homes and land by providing compensation for their houses and property.
4. Conduct a transparent study involving local residents to halt port construction, which is causing coastal erosion and is a threat to Vizhinjam fishing port, Kovalam and Shankhumukham beaches.
5. Intervene to roll back the kerosene price hike. Make kerosene available on Tamilnadu model.
6. Pay minimum wages to fishermen on days they cannot go to sea due to weather warnings.
7. Solve capitalization problems.
The ministers of the departments concerned with the representatives of the strikers are holding discussions in this regard. Issues including the concern that the construction works of the port are leading to coastal erosion are also being considered in the discussion. Fishermen are also cooperating in the implementation of these activities. They are fully cooperative in the discussions.
The government and the police are handling the strike by the fishermen with restraint. The government insists that there should be no conflict in the fishing sector. But we cannot ignore the activities of a section in any way to create conflict. It cannot be forgotten that the actions of some are not well-intentioned and at least some have political motives. Now this matter is under the consideration of the High Court. The High Court has directed that the construction work should not be interrupted. The Chief Minister said that government intervention has become necessary in this situation as well.
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