Counter-campaigns against Vizhinjam port stir gain steam

The BJP has also been campaigning for the project, highlighting its development potential

The protest against the construction of the Vizhinjam International Seaport has gone on for over 100 days. Credit: PTI Photo

As the over 100-day-long stir against the Adani Vizhinjam International Seaport project continues indefinitely, resentment and allegations against the stir are also gaining steam.

Close on the heels of CPI(M) leader and Education Minister V Sivankutty alleging that an attempt to unleash a riot was unfolding, the party mouthpiece raised suspicions that it was a move for another liberation struggle – a protest by various sections, including Christian factions, against the first elected Communist government in Kerala.

There are also reports in a section of the media that many leaders of the stir are under the scanner of the Intelligence Bureau owing to suspected foreign funding to the stir.

The Latin Catholic Church is spearheading the agitation by the coastal community against the under-construction project.

The state government claims that all the six demands of the agitators, especially with regard to rehabilitation of those who lost houses in coastal erosion, were met, and the demand to stop the work could not be accepted.

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However former minister K V Thomas, who is also mediating with the agitators, said that the government could not take the agitators into confidence yet even as it announced remedial measures with regard to their concerns.

Thomas refused to comment on allegations by the CPI(M) that a rioting bid was happening and the agitators were getting foreign funding.

However, he said that using force against the coastal community could lead to major law and order problems in the state and hence the state government was maintaining utmost restraint.

A section of local people were also staging a counter campaign at Vizhinjam, backing the port project. The BJP has also been campaigning for the project, highlighting its potential to aid the state's development.

The Rs 7,500 crore project, initiated in 2015, has already missed deadlines owing to factors like cyclones and rock shortages. As per the revised schedule, the project is expected to be commissioned next year.

However, since construction has been at a standstill for the last 100 days, the chances of missing this deadline was also high, said sources associated with the project.