By Thomas Scaria
Vizhinjam, Oct 28, 2022: Thousands of fishermen and women on October 28 stormed the under construction Vizhinjam International Port by the Adani groups, throwing police barricades to the Arabian sea as the protest entered 101 days.
The more than 1,500 police force remained calm as the agitated fishing community pulled up the police barricades and threw them into the sea, and burned their own fishing boat as a sign of frustration.
“Their life has become stagnated, they are starving for the past 100 days and no force can stop their determination,” said Medical Mission Sister Theramma Prayikalam, who has stood with the fisherpeople’s cause for the past thirty years.
Sister Prayikalam told Matters India that the Fisherpeople are really frustrated as the government has failed to give them an empathetic response so far. “They are not against any development, but only demanding their right to live in their land and continue their profession as fisher folk,” she explained.
One highlight of the 100th day protest was to expand the strike to also Muthalapozhy, a fresh entrance used by the Adani groups to transport port construction materials, the nun pointed out.
Some incidences of violence were reported from the protest on October 28 as fisher people resisted some media groups from covering the event. It was also reported that the women stormed a police officer for manhandling a Catholic priest during the protests.
“We were not violent for past 100 days, and we don’t know what will happen in the days ahead,” a protester told the media persons.
“We are hungry and angry, jobless and frustrated,” cried an aggrieved woman who demanded their right to live and earn a life in their lands.
However, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asserted that the work cannot be stopped, whatever the cost. He said the government is doing “whatever is possible to rehabilitate the people” who have lost their land and houses.
The government also claims that the sea erosion was not due to the port construction but climate change.
The Adani group has claimed that they have lost more than1.5 billion rupees so far after the port work was stopped and demanded that the protesters pay for their losses.
The Kerala High Court has ordered the state government to evict the protesters so that the construction works could resume.
Meanwhile, Father Eugine H. Pereira, the vicar general of the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum, asserted that the strike will continue till their demands are met.
“The government has not given any definite answer to our demands so far, except confusing people and media with wrong information,” said Father Pereira in an earlier interview with Maters India. He was not available for comments on the 101th day.
Sister Prayikalam said the losses incurred to the fishing community is their own life and cannot be counted in rupees. “Who will compensate them?” she asked.