Adani port back on track, another win for Pinarayi govt’s ‘development push’ | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
Like the SilverLine semi-high speed rail project, the CPI(M) has handled the Vizhinjam port protest without ceding ground, its tactic including sharing platform with the BJP, thus lending the protest a communal shade
The government’s adamant stand that the construction of the Rs 7,500 crore project cannot be abandoned or suspended at this stage, along with the reluctance of opposition political parties to put their entire weight behind the agitation, and the depletion of public sympathy in the wake of last week’s violent incidents, forced the fishermen to pack up and return to their villages.
There is no doubt that the agitation brought to public attention issues related to the state’s fisheries sector, ranging from sea erosion, loss of dwellings and working days, and inadequate fuel subsidy. But, for all the woes in their coastal life, the protesters failed in putting the port project in the dock.
There is some respite for the fishermen, though. The formation of a chief secretary-level committee has been announced, which will monitor their rehabilitation and a host of perennial demands related to their livelihood. These demands related to their rehabilitation had been agreed upon by the government during previous rounds of discussions with the agitators, but they had continued the stir demanding suspension of construction until an expert committee probed sea erosion due to the port and submitted its report on the matter.
Among their other demands, there is no word yet from the government on increasing the subsidy on kerosene that the fishermen use in their outboard-engine fitted boats, and increasing the house rent paid by the government to those who had lost their houses due to sea erosion in recent years. The fishermen wanted at least Rs 8,000 per month as rent, but the government was in no mood to go beyond Rs 5,500, which the fishermen feel is inadequate.
The fishermen had identified sea erosion as the crux of their woes and blamed the port being built for it. Banking upon various expert studies and reports before and after the commencement of the port’s construction, the government categorically stated that the VISL had not contributed to any sea erosion, which became an impediment for the fishermen trying to pin the blame on the Adani port for all their problems, from houses that collapsed to dwindling livelihoods.
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