Kerala govt scraps second deep-sea trawling deal with US firm

Succumbing to political pressure and protests, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala has decided to scrap a second deal with a US firm related to deep-sea trawling.

The government initially scrapped a Rs 2,950 crore MoU between EMCC International India, a subsidiary of US-based EMCC Global Consortium, and the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), for building 400 trawlers. However, another MoU for Rs 5,000 crore investment in research and development in the field of deep-sea fishing and allocation of four-acre land to the firm were not scrapped.

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As the Opposition parties, mainly the Congress-led UDF, was stepping up attack against the government over the issue, the Pinarayi Vijayan government decided to scrap the second deal also. Even the Latin Catholic Church that represents a major chunk of the fishermen community had openly expressed resentment over the deal.

Apart from the interaction by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the fishermen, the Congress is also initiating a series of protests including marches across the coastal areas of Kerala. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala is also staging a sit-in in the coastal area of Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday demanding a judicial probe into the entire row.