THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The Latin Church on Sunday will read out a pastoral letter stating that it would severely oppose the Vizhinjam project if the government did not make any change in the current plan.
If the project is pursued based on the current plan, it would pose threat to the environment and rob many of their livelihood, stated the letter.
The government should announce a package for them. If not, the Latin community will protest vehemently, says the letter. The project was given environmental clearance in 2011. And the expert committee in the Ministry of Environment has then itself pointed out that if the project is pursued as envisaged in the current plan, there will be grave repercussions on the fishing harbour at Vizhinjam, said the letter.
Building break walls on the north of the coastal line in the area will lead to a loss of huge area of land. If a break wall for four kilometres is built for the Vizhinjam port, the coastal line extending from Poonthura till Veli will be wiped out.
“For instance, in the 1970s, after constructing break wall of about 400 metres for fishing harbour at Vizhinjam, the sea has taken over Panathura, Poonthura, Bheemapalli, Valiyathura where the density of population was high,” it said.
There were once 100 families in Poonthura and now it is just the sea. The loss of land is still visible there. Many official studies conducted under Central Government have also testified it. Above all, in the project site, 400-m deep shipping channels will have to be dredged. And major ships will be passed along these routes. Because of it, the traditional fishermen from Pulluvila till Pozhiyoor will be banned from going into the sea for fishing, the pastoral letter stated.