Authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, barring public gatherings from 6 AM to 9 PM. Despite this, hundreds of fisherfolk, including women and children, protested in the streets
Published Feb 28, 2025 | 11:52 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 02, 2025 | 11:31 AM
Ariel view of Honnavar
Synopsis: Protests against the proposed private port at Kasarkod beach in Honnavar escalated on 25 February, with local fishermen accusing police of excessive force. Despite prohibitory orders, hundreds of fisherfolk protested against a land survey for the port. Eyewitnesses and viral videos depict police brutality, including the manhandling of women, and a mother being arrested in front of her child, intensifying public outrage.
The ongoing protests against the proposed private port at Kasarkod beach in Honnavar have taken a violent turn, with local fishermen accusing the police of excessive force and unlawful suppression of their movement.
On 25 February, the district administration, under heavy police security, attempted to conduct a land survey for a road leading to the port—an action that was met with fierce resistance from the fishing community.
In a move widely condemned by activists, authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) from 6 AM to 9 PM, barring public gatherings. Despite this, hundreds of fisherfolk, including women and children, took to the streets in protest.
Eyewitness accounts and viral videos from the protest site depict harrowing scenes of police brutality. Several women were reportedly manhandled, dragged, and heckled by the police. One shocking incident saw a mother being arrested in front of her crying daughter, further inflaming public outrage.
Protestors have also alleged that police personnel present at the site were not wearing nameplates, with some appearing in masks.
At a press conference held in Bengaluru on 27 February, concerned citizens, along with advocates, came together to question the government’s action and also the discrepancies in the way survey work is being undertaken.
Advocate Sreeja Chakraborty says that one public hearing was conducted on 27 January 2012, which was attended by only 10 people. “This is a very surprising attendance because the stakeholders are more than 30,000 as per Karnataka government’s own fisheries census reports.”
She added that there has already been a case filed before the NGT in 2022, opposing the construction of a dedicated port road on the shoreline through the olive ridley turtle nesting beach. For one and a half years, due to a stay order from the NGT, the project proponent could not build the road.
BT Venkatesh, a senior advocate claims the government, with the port company, have said that they are going to survey the land. “To do this they cannot enter the private residences of fishermen which are granted by the government. They are the absolute owners of the property. Now they are trespassing into their houses, measuring the land for the purpose of road and rail. How can they enter their premises?” he asked.
He also claimed that when the fishermen asked these questions, they have been slapped with cases such as attempt to murder.
The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) has strongly condemned the crackdown and called for immediate action against those responsible. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the Deputy Commissioner (Uttara Kannada District), NFF Chairperson Ramakrishna Tandel and executive member Vikas Tandel have demanded a fair and impartial investigation into the incidents of police brutality.
“The police must maintain law and order, which includes upholding citizens’ right to peaceful protest. The police continuously refused to furnish any written order for the same, raising suspicions about the illegality of police action in protecting the operations of a private company which is against law and order,” the letter stated.
The NFF has urged the government to take the following steps immediately:
– Conduct an independent investigation into allegations of police violence.
– Hold police personnel accountable for their treatment of women and children.
– Ensure the safety and security of the fisher community.
– Uphold the constitutional right to peaceful protest and assembly.
The forum has also warned that if the government continues to ignore the legitimate demands of the fisherfolk, they will push for a nationwide strike.
For the 1,000 families dependent on fishing in Honnavar, the port project they fear, will destroy crucial fishing zones, disrupt marine biodiversity, and displace hundreds of families.
BT Venkatesh alleges that Tonka 1 and Tonka 2 villages where the agitation is taking place have completely disappeared from government records. “There are a thousand families, living there in that area, fishermen, a small village port and their boats, none of them are existing now.” They have their identity cards, but their villages have mysteriously disappeared, according to the senior advocate.
Moreover, environmental activists warn that the construction will endanger the fragile coastal ecosystem, including the nesting grounds of the endangered olive ridley turtles.
Sandeep Hegde, Trustee, Honavar Foundation, tells South First that the olive ridley turtles have been coming to the Honnavar shores to lay their eggs for decades. “The forest department has data, and over the last few years, we have left around 5,000 hatchlings back to the sea on the Tonka shoreline itself. When we talk about the coastline of Karnataka, not all shorelines are sandy, they are mixed. These turtles come to historically undeveloped shorelines and come at night to lay their eggs,” he said.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
