Protesters took law into hands at Vizhinjam, Adani Group informs Kerala HC

KOCHI: Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd on Wednesday informed the Kerala High Court that the protesters took law into their hands and work on the Vizinjam International Seaport project was stalled following protests. The work has to be completed by April 2023 and 80% of the work is over. Now, the protesters have entered the project site and are physically obstructing the employees of the company from proceeding with the work.

The project has got the approval of the National Green Tribunal and it was confirmed by the Supreme Court. The work had been going on for long and nobody had raised any complaints against it so far. However, all of a sudden, the clergy under Latin Catholic dioceses called for an agitation to which a large number of people responded and they started joining the protest in front of the project site.

The police were unable to control the situation when these people belligerently breached the law and stormed the project site.“Men in religious robes come to the site as part of the protest. It is not the people in the localities who take part in the protest. People are coming from various other places because calls come from such persons,” said the counsel for the petitioners.

The state government said thousands of people including pregnant women and children are at the forefront of the protest. Hence, the police could not initiate immediate action against the protesters. The state attorney said the chief minister has informed the assembly that the work cannot be stopped. The government has met most of the demands of the fishermen and it will constitute an expert team and direct the committee to file a report.After the conclusion of the arguments by all parties in the case, the court reserved its order on the petition filed by the company seeking police protection.