Violating the assurances given to the Kerala High Court, those protesting against the under-construction Vizhinjam seaport on Saturday, November 25, blocked trucks carrying construction materials to the site. The protesters, led by the Latin Catholic Church, had on November 22 assured the High Court that they would not block any vehicles coming to the Vizhinjam seaport. However, on Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the gate of the seaport, where the agitators blocked the road by erecting a shed across the road and stopped the vehicles.
The High Court had, on November 22, warned the protesters that stern action will be taken against them if they failed to remove the obstructions.
The Adani Group, which is constructing the seaport, told PTI that the works restarted today based on the court order. "It's been 102 days since the work has been halted here due to the protests. We had approached the state High Court, which gave us a favourable ruling. The court had asked us to restart the work but this is the situation today also. Now, let the court take a decision," a company spokesperson said. The protesters blocked five trucks carrying construction materials.
The port, a Kerala government initiative, is currently being developed with a Public Private Partnership component on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer ("DBFOT") basis. The private partner, Adani Vizhinjam Port Private limited, commenced the construction on December 5, 2015, with a cost of Rs 7,525 crore.
The Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport authorities had said that 70% of the work has now been completed. The protesters have been demanding that the construction of the deepwater port be stopped and a proper environmental impact study should be carried out.
They have also put forward six other demands including rehabilitation of families who lost their homes to sea erosion, steps to mitigate coastal erosion, financial assistance to fisherfolk on days weather warnings are issued, compensation to families of those who lose their lives in fishing accidents, subsidised kerosene, and a mechanism to dredge the Muthalapozhi fishing harbour in Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Earlier, the state government had made it clear that almost all the demands of the protesters were met except halting the construction work at the port. The high court has multiple times asked the protesters not to block the road to the seaport premises and have asked the government to remove the shed erected by the agitators as part of their protests.