Held under the aegis of the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, the massive protests involved thousands of agitators.
Priests of Latin catholic Church are taking part in a protest rally in Thiruvananthapuram in 2022 against the under construction Adani sponsored International Transhipment terminal. (KB Jayachandran/ South First)
Normal life in Kerala’s capital city Thiruvananthapuram was thrown out of gear on Monday, 17 October, when the coastal community protesting against the Adani Group-promoted Vizhinjam international transhipment terminal blocked roads at eight key locations.
Held under the aegis of the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, the massive protests involved thousands of agitators.
The protests were organised against the backdrop of the refusal of the state government to meet any of the demands of the agitating coastal community, including keeping the ongoing construction works in abeyance till an independent expert committee studying the environmental and livelihood challenges posed by the terminal, which is promoted as a large-scale infrastructure development initiative.
Earlier protests took various forms. The agitators have even blocked a sea route to the construction site!
The protesters did manage to get the construction of the port halted, but the spectre of resumption of work is not gone.
The coastal community completed 90 days of the protest on Monday, 17 October, 2022. (South First)
Hence, the protests on Monday. Many air passengers had to reschedule or cancel their journeys as the protestors occupied all the roads leading to the local airport and placed massive fishing vessels in the middle of the roads.
People who preferred train journeys also faced the same difficulty.
Buses and taxis were also kept off the road.
Buses of even schools and colleges were stranded on the road for several hours.
Thousands of fish workers thronged at Attingal, Station Kadavu, Chakkai, Thiruvallom, Vizhinjam, Mulloor, Poovar, and Uchakada junctions between 8 am and 5 pm, saying the government was challenging their patience.
In the evening, a combined protest march was taken to the state Secretariat.
In a statement issued in the evening, Archbishop Thomas J Netto said the community members would strengthen their protests in the coming days, and the strike would only end when they got justice.
The archbishop said the LDF government in the state was taking a unilateral stand on the issue, favouring Adani.
He also urged community members to cooperate with the panel formed by the church as an alternative committee to the one appointed by the state government to study the adverse impact of the port’s construction around the coastal region.
Vicar General of the Archdiocese and general convenor of the protest, Eugine H Pereira, explained later that the road blockade was not meant to cause inconvenience to the public but against the government’s adamant attitude against a marginalised community.
Protestors blocking the road near the airport. (South First)
He said there would be a statewide protest on Wednesday to highlight the issue with the support of various organisations.
The protesters would organise an art-and-culture meeting in front of the Secretariat on the same day.
Though District Collector Geromic George ordered a ban on staging road blockades by protesters at the Vizhinjam Junction and Mulloor on Monday, citing law and order issues, it had no impact.
The order banning sloganeering in the area also failed to yield the desired result.
The collector said the restrictions were imposed considering the presence of two opposing groups — one led by the Church and the other by a local action group supporting Adani — in the area.
During the talks held with the Adani Group the other day, Kerala Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil assured the corporate behemoth that the stir would be resolved soon.
A circular from the Archdiocese has said that instead of resolving the demands put forth by the fishermen over the Vizhinjam port issue, the government has an obstinate attitude and that the stir would be intensified.
The government had a unilateral stance, and not even one of the seven demands raised by the Samara Samithi had been met, stated the circular, which was read out at the churches under the Archdiocese.
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