There was a time when the fishermen community in Kerala was praised as the ‘state’s army. That was after the worst-hit floods in 2018. Social media handles praised coastal men for their timely rescue intervention during the floods. Is it relevant to look up their life situations now, when the heated discussion on seaport construction strikes the mainstream? Kerala, the state situated on the South West coast of the Indian Subcontinent consists of three regions- highland, mid-land, lowland. That is the lowland lies near the sea.
The state has a coastline of 589.5 Kilometers which forms 10% of India’s total coastline. Due to climatic concerns and geographical changes, the fisherfolk have been raising some issues that pose adverse impacts on their livelihood. Adding to this, another headache is now hitting the heads of the fisher community in Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram district that is on the construction of a commercial seaport in the south of Vizhinjam harbor.
At the cost of ₹7,525 crores, Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater multipurpose sea port is being built by Gautham Adani’s Adani port and SEZ Ltd. Once the construction completes, the port will become a major part of the International shipping route, as it can handle the biggest cargo ships. Natives in the coastal areas alleged that such a construction will cause serious damage to their homes and fishing jobs. Eventually, they decide to hold protests until their demands are met. They put up demands that mainly want to stop the port construction and they demand a proper environmental impact study to be held with the participation of representatives from the fisher community.
Why Is The Fishers Community Protesting?
The protesters in different parts of coastal hamlets are sitting and protesting in front of the Vizhinjam port entrance located nearby at Mulloor. Here are their seven demands.
• Stop the construction of the Adani port project and then; do a detailed study on the negative consequences of coastal erosion and coastal accretion. The study team must comprise local experts chosen by the protesters.
• Implement the rehabilitation package which is announced by the Kerala government. As per the protesters, the government should provide rent-free accommodation to those who lost their homes.
•Implement effective steps to mitigate coastal erosion and rehabilitate those who are affected by it.
• Government should pay compensation as soon as possible to the fishers who are involved in sea accidents and threats.
• Address the issue of supplying subsidized Kerosene. Reduce the price of kerosene.
• Address the dredging activities in the sea near the harbour at Muthalapozhi.
• During adverse weather conditions, fishers can not go to sea for their jobs. In this context, the government should provide minimum wages on days without work.
Vizhinjam Multi-Purpose Sea Port: A Look Back
Vizhinjam International sea port construction officially commenced in 2015. At that time, the Adani group made an agreement that the construction would complete within 1000 days. However, 1/3rd of the construction is completed now. It is constructed on the south side of Vizhinjam harbour.
Firstly, the discussion for Vizhinjam port construction was said to be held in 1995 when the United Democratic Front (UDF) government signed an agreement with the Kumar group of Hyderabad. In 1999, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had discussions with the Kumar group again based on the BOT( Build-operate-Transfer) model. They did not take this project due to the protests from natives as well as Kumar group did not find companies to invest in the port construction. Later comes Adani’s hand.
Regarding the ongoing tension over the seaport construction, I spoke to my sources from Vizhinjam. They detailed why they are against this construction and why they have been protesting to stop it.
“We have made negotiations with the state government officials, and it is clear that they have a light approach towards every demand except the main one ‘to stop the port construction’. The fishermen community is not against the concept of development but mainly this is a matter of survival. Issue is that the construction can cause heavy ecological damage to the sea and its environment. Even the expert committee once said that construction is economically not necessary and environmentally unsafe. Trivandrum is an erosion-prone area. So why do they want to have a port here? There is a question of economic viability. In Kerala, Vallarppadam there is already a container terminal that is unable to utilize its capacity. So, why do you want to have another transshipment port here?” A.J Vijayan, the Coastal watch and an active member of Vizhinjam coastal protection protest committee said.
Pulimuttu Or Breakwater: A Nightmare For The Fishing Community
The protesters say that the construction of artificial sea walls ‘Pulimuttu’ (breakwater) in local parlance is the main reason for coastal erosion. Under the Trivandrum archdiocese, The Center for fisheries studies, Trivandrum Social service society have studied the issue. As per the Environmental Impact study report on the container transshipment port scheme, the port is constructed against the environmental guidelines. Another main issue is breakwater, study says it is one of the major reasons for coastal erosion. In the 1970s, for the fishing harbour in Vizhinjam a breakwater that had a length of 400m was built. As a result of this construction, the sea has taken away a larger portion of the coastal areas like Panathura, Poonthura, Bheemapally and Valiyathura. In Poonthura hundreds of homes were destroyed and vanished. If the 4km breakwater is built for port construction, coastal areas from Poonthura to Veli will disappear. The port construction is going to affect mainly the Vizhinjam harbour and this will adversely affect the fishing community.
Vijayan further added that “Government official studies point out the adverse impact of breakwater over the sea. If the breakwater is built in an erosion area, further erosion would happen to the coast and on the other side further accretion would take place. There is a possibility of sediment transportation. Once you construct the breakwater in front of the fishing harbour, accidents and threats are continuously going to happen to the people in coastal areas in Vizhinjam”.
“Vizhinjam port is an artificial seaport, without a huge breakwater it is impossible to have a harbour there. The problem created by breakwaters is another concern though. Large number of rocks are needed for building breakwater. For this, they are destroying Western ghats. The government has been allotting quarries illegally to the Adani group. Such destruction poses a threat not only to sea resources but also to the land area. People in coastal areas are aware of all these consequences, not only because the Church guides them but they are experiencing it daily.” he said
Dredging is another issue, which is a fishing method in which a dredge is dragged across the seafloor by penetrating the bottom of the sea. The Fishing community says that if dredging happens, they can not do their jobs and are unable to meet their livelihood expenses.
An Unfulfilled Rehabilitation Promise
Rehabilitation promises have not been fulfilled yet. Fishers say that all these are just a promise. As per the sources in Vizhinjam, People who lost their land and house property after the construction of Thumba research center, International airport in Trivandrum and Travancore titanium scheme are not rehabilitated yet properly. If the port is constructed fully, the natives in the Vizhinjam coastal areas will become jobless. Such construction in the name of development is a question for the livelihood of the fishing community.
“Since 2018, around 350 families are living their livelihood in rehabilitation camps by facing human rights violations. The port is being constructed on the south side of Vizhinjam harbour. North and south sides will be affected by the construction. The north coast began to disappear (coastal erosion) and the sand sediment will return to the visible portion of coast on the south side (coastal accretion). If the port construction completes, it will have an intense impact on people’s lives, not just on the fishermen community but on everyone in the State .Till now, only one-third of the construction has been completed. So can you imagine what would be the ecological damage if it got completed?” one of the sources said.
According to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute CMFRI, there are 1882 fishing units From Vizhinjam to Pozhiyoor. If the coastal areas are declared as fishing prevention zones, thousands of fishing households are going to be affected. If the situation continues like this more than 50,000 people in the fishing community will be forced to stop fishing for their livelihood.
Fisher folks in coastal areas are socially organized under the church, the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum. Protesters have got the backing of the Latin Catholic church. The protest in front of Vizhinjam port main gate has been happening under the leadership of the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum. Protesters alleged that in the name of development around ₹6,000 crores worth of land was handed over to the Adani group which is corruption.
“About 90-95% of the fishermen community belongs to the Latin Catholic faction. The Church can bring all the people together. Fishermen have awareness and they are agitated. In the case of the Church, it will not step back from the protest; if they do, the credibility will lose. Hindu fishing community’s Dheevara Sabha and the Muslim fisher community too came in support to extend their solidarity. We are getting the support of people from various streams and religious factions; Dalits and minorities. The solidarity extended by the people who were rescued by fishermen during the time of floods is a notable thing to tell” another source said.
Women And Fishing Concerns In Vizhinjam
Women in Vizhinjam have specific concerns about commercial port construction. They said that the unhygienic and unsecured rehabilitation camps pose insecurity to the young girls in coastal areas. Regarding this, Seeta Dasan, a State committee member of Seva Trust, and an active member of coastal protection spoke to me.
“We have crossed 90 days of protest in Vizhinjam. The Fisher community knows the science behind the sea, we have been residing here for years. We are the daughters and sons of this land. Then why can’t they include us in the case study? I am a woman from the fishermen community. All these so-called developments are imposed here without having a word with the fisher community. This is a challenge for all the women in coastal areas. We need to take care of our families by doing this fishing job. If the port construction completes, the shore area will be lost. This would badly affect the lives of women.”
“Most importantly, fishing markets are controlled and dominated by men. Apart from the port construction, we have been facing a lot of other issues. Sanitation facilities are not good in markets. Bathrooms that are used by women are locked. There is no place to change the sanitary napkin if a fisherwoman is on her periods. Where do we need to go? We have raised all these issues during the protest which is happening now. No trade unions are highlighting our issues. There is a common problem that can be seen among the fishermen community, apart from that, women being ignored in the decision-making process, which is another matter of concern.”
“There are meetings which are held with Ministers regarding the port construction, in that too there is barely the participation of women. Women groups in coastal areas in Vizhinjam have been raising this issue of environmental destruction for years.” She said.
State Government’s Response
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly that the government considers providing rented accommodation to rehabilitate the displaced fishermen community. CM said the state government has launched a project worth Rs 2450 crores to rehabilitate fisherfolks who are displaced. According to the government, efforts are being made to placate the fishing community. On August 23, CM said in the Legislative Assembly that the protests are orchestrated for other benefits. Various meetings were held by Samara Samithi (Protest committee) with Ministers in the state for solving the demands. But in none of the meetings the major demand to halt the construction of the port has been met.
“Many political leaders are extending solidarity but not talking about the major demand to stop the port construction. The Congress government had initially accepted this construction but they would not admit it now. Adani group is going to get more income share from this port construction. Secret political meetings were said to be held with Adani by the senior political leaders. There will be jobs for skilled workers once the construction gets completed and that itself has a very less number of opportunities. Then how would they accommodate other fisher workers?
Cases have been filed against protesters for the alleged act against law and order. No political leaders truly care for us. All of them are equally responsible for this situation.
The shocking fact is that the state government has been telling the fishermen that the demands are genuine but port construction can not be stopped. And the other main concern is proper rehabilitation promised by the government is not happening well. Their lives are miserable inside the camps. The plight of the common man will become worse once the port construction is completed.” A.J Vijayan said.
Muthalapozhi: A Death Trap
One of the demands of protesters is to address and solve the issue of Muthalapozhi harbour. The coast of Muthalapozhi is situated 40kms north of Vizhinjam. The harbour is a death trap, because after the construction of two parallel breakwaters nearly 65 deaths have happened due to sea accidents since 2015. As per the information given by the Fisheries department in 2018 alone, 18 fishermen died in Muthalapozhi. The accidents are happening due to the unscientific placement of rocks and breakwaters. The strange wave pattern in Muthalapozhi has always been a matter of concern for the natives residing there.
“Our coastal areas will soon emerge as fishing prohibition zones. If that happens, the majority of people from the Vizhinjam coast will lose their jobs. There is no promise from the state government or Adani group to employ all who got affected by the port construction. Due to this, we can not go to the sea for fishing and we will live the rest of our lives as refugees in unsecured camps. There are no adequate sanitation facilities available in the rehabilitation camps. Do we need to stay our whole life in these unprotected camps? Where are those homes promised by the Kerala government?”
“For the fishermen community, an unthreatened home is a dream. We are going to be displaced from our lands due to this port construction. Human-made construction destroys sea resources as well as the properties on the land. We all know this already. We demand the stopping of port construction mainly, for that in Mullur, the main protest has been taking place. If the government is not ready to take up our demands we will change the mode of protest and will intensify it statewide. I am also taking part in this fight for survival, not just as a member of the Seva trust but as a daughter of this coastal area.” Seeta, the source said.
Kerala High Court recently asked the state government to remove all the obstructions in the front entrance of Vizhinjam’s under-construction seaport. Adani group has moved a contempt of court plea and raised concern over the shed that was erected by the protesters in front of the port entrance. Adani group has informed the state government that it had already incurred an actual loss of around ₹100 crores due to the protesting fisher community in front of the port entrance. The Kerala government is conducting discussions with the Adani group over the construction. Apart from all these agreements and discussions protesters who never mind the heat of the sun are still sitting at the spot in Mulloor demanding access to have safe livelihood.