Hope deadlock over Vizhinjam seaport ends soon: Tharoor

KOCHI: Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday urged the anti-seaport protesters at Vizhinjam not to insist on halting the project but said their agitation was justified, and expressed hope that it will be resolved soon.

Addressing the media here after his meeting with the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, the Lok Sabha member said it was wrong to call the protesting fishermen 'anti-national'.

Tharoor was referring to the statement of Kerala Fisheries Minister V Abdurahiman that the attempts to obstruct the Vizihinjam seaport construction would be viewed as an 'anti-national' activity.

Meanwhile, Alencherry, who also spoke to the reporters, said the Vizhinjam issue will be discussed in the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council meeting.

The Cardinal urged the protesters and the government to come together and resolve the issue.

Both Tharoor and Alencherry said that their meeting was not to discuss any one particular issue but talked about various matters in the state.

When asked about the Vizhinjam seaport deadlock, Tharoor said he discusses the matter on a daily basis with Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Cleemis had on Sunday held discussions with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as part of a reconciliation effort to arrive at an amicable solution.

Tharoor said he expected the state government to accept the reasonable demands of the fishermen community.

"...but it was a disappointment that nothing much materialised. But now we see some progress and hope everything will resolve soon. I feel that the protesters should not insist on halting the project but on other matters, I feel that their agitation can be justified," he said.

The parliamentarian recalled that the fishermen community stood by the state during the 2018 floods. "It's wrong to call them anti-nationals. They always stood with the development of this state. They risked their lives to save people during the 2018 floods," Tharoor said.

The Lok Sabha member added that the Vizhinjam project will contribute in a major way to the development of India and south India in particular. "We want to ensure peace and both sides should not take extreme steps," he said.

Alencherry said some demands of the agitators were reasonable.

"We all want these issues to be resolved. That was our stance from the beginning. The people protesting there too have some demands and many are reasonable. Both sides should come together to resolve the matter," Alencherry said.

Meanwhile, the cabinet subcommittee is expected to hold peace talks today with the protesters who are agitating in front of the under-construction Vizhinjam seaport for over the past 130 days.

The violent protesters had recently vandalised the Vizhinajm police station injuring over 40 police personnel demanding to release an accused and a few others who were in custody for one earlier protest case.

A large number of people have been staging demonstrations outside the main entrance of the multi-purpose sea port at nearby Mulloor for a few months.

They have been pressing for their seven-point charter of demands that include stopping the construction work and to conduct a coastal impact study in connection with the multi-crore project.

The protesters have been alleging that the unscientific construction of groynes, the artificial sea walls as part of the upcoming port, was one of the reasons for the increasing coastal erosion.

The High Court, in its interim order on October 19, made it clear to remove obstructions created by protesters at the entrance of the port and asked the state government to implement it.