Vizhinjam stir: Women to take over hunger strike on Thursday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move to intensify the protest against the Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport project, the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram has decided to start a hunger strike involving women from Thursday. Women from various parishes under the diocese will participate in the strike.  

“We will continue our fight for justice as the government has not done anything substantial to address the issues we have been raising. The women have come forward to take up the protest,” said Theodacious D’Cruz, a priest and convenor of the protest. A state-level committee has been formed with the support of other organisations to carry out the protests in other districts. We will hold a protest in front of the secretariat on October 19, he said.

The decision to widen the protest came after the High Court ordered the government to allow the construction activities without any hindrance from the protesters. A group supporting the port project has started a parallel hunger strike at Mulloor.

The government and protesters failed to reach a consensus despite five rounds of talks at various levels. The church, however, said the protest did not stop the construction activities. “Earlier the protesters used to enter the project site. Even then, the work was not stopped. The port authorities have succeeded in hoodwinking the public that they could not carry out the work due to the protest. They are not able to start any work related to the breakwater due to adverse weather conditions and difficulty in getting large boulders,” said Theodacious.

The church started the protest by demanding the government stop port construction and study its ecological impact by involving coastal people. Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi (JPS), a group supporting the port project, demanded the venue of the church-led protest be shifted from near the gate. JPS’s hunger strike entered the third day on Wednesday.