A fisherman’s death in a boat accident on Thursday triggered fresh protests against the Adani group’s Vizhinjam seaport project near Thiruvananthapuram, whose allegedly unscientific breakwater has become hazardous to fishermen’s lives.
About 70 fishermen have died in boat accidents over the last eight years in the nearby Muthalapozhi fishing harbour, where the navigation channel has turned shallow and is laden with large rocks and concrete structures called tetrapods.
According to the local fishing community, at least 17 of those who died got trapped in the manmade rock-and-concrete formations and were unable to swim to safety after their boats were caught in unpredictably high waves.
Several fishermen and their families, part of the Latin Church-led protest committee, the Vizhinjam Samara Samithi, demonstrated in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
They demanded a scientific resolution of the problems caused by the seaport and related constructions, which they claim have altered wave patterns and the depth of the navigation channel, leading to frequent boat accidents.
In the latest incident, a fisherman named Victor died while two others swam to safety when their boat capsized around 1.30am on Thursday.
Eugine H. Pereira, vicar-general of the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, who initiated the protest, urged the state government to involve all stakeholders, including the fishermen, to find lasting solutions.
“The Kerala Assembly should adopt an adjournment motion, discuss the issue and suggest solutions to this very serious problem by taking all stakeholders into consideration. Otherwise, we will be forced to launch an indefinite strike at the secretariat,” Pereira said.
The protest committee had previously organised a months-long blockade outside the ₹7,525-crore seaport, being built by the Vizhinjam Adani Port Pvt Ltd. The protesters alleged that the project had caused massive coastal erosion that had destroyed hundreds of houses and forced 335 families into temporary accommodation in a warehouse.
The strike was called off after 138 days on December 6, 2022, following assurances from the state government to meet all the protesters’ demands.
Subsequently, the state government assigned the Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station to study the issues. The agency proposed a ₹164-crore project for corrective steps, including extending the breakwater and dredging the area to provide a safe channel for fishermen.
The state government has sought the Centre’s approval of the ₹164-crore project under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana Scheme. However, Pereira alleged, neither the state government nor the Adani group had maintained the depth of the navigation channel, which was the chief cause of most of the accidents.
Pereira said: “I had alerted an elected representative about the presence ofAdani’s dredger at the Vizhinjam port. Adani (the group) was tasked (according to a memorandum of understanding with the government) with deepening the navigation channel (to five metres).”
“This dredger could have done that job in just two days. But no one bothered.”
Pereira said the dredger had since left for Sri Lanka.
Pereira criticised state fishing minister Saji Cherian for suggesting the fishing harbour be shut during the current monsoon season to prevent accidents.
“The minister wantsto shut the harbour during this season, when the fishermen make some money,” he said.
