For the past four days, the work at the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)regasification terminal at Puthuvypu has been at a standstill.
Reason? The irate locals are blocking the entry of employees to the terminal premises as it is alleged that the company is yet to keep its word of providing employment to the residents of the area. The protestors have the backing of all the major political parties The protestors said the company had earlier promised of providing jobs to the local people, which they have not fulfilled. Santhosh, a Bharatiya Janata Party activist, said the company had backtracked from its promise of providing jobs to the locals.
“All the parties have come forward in the protest and we would go ahead with the agitation till the demands are met,” he said.
Ashokan, another local, who is also involved in the strike, said they were not invited for any talks even after three days of protest. There were also allegations that the company had recruited people of their interest.
However, Petronet LNG Limited managing director A K Balyan said there was no basis in the blockade and the delay would be reflected in the commissioning of the project. “There would be delay in the completion of the terminal. The protest is motivated by people with vested interests,” he said.
The company had asked the government to remove the blockade. When asked if the company has any plan for talks with the protestors, Balyan said there was no need for such a talk.
“Of the recruitment that has been made so far with regard to the terminal, over 90 per cent has been from Kerala. Thirty-six of the 38 recruited are from Kerala,” he said. The recruitment process was held only after proper advertisement in the local papers, he said, and added that the company has certain criteria for appointments and all qualified people from the state have been recruited.
However, sources inside the company said the promise of giving jobs to the people of Kerala had not been fulfilled. They said that there were only 17 Keralites among the total 45 employed so far. And of these, only nine Keralites were taken in as officers of the total 33.
They demanded the recruitments should have been made without creating a controversy.
The local people who have IT knowledge could have accommodated in some jobs in the technical wing, which the company has not bothered to, they said. The LNG terminal was scheduled to be commissioned in November-December this year.
But the delay has been because of a midway decision to raise the capacity of the terminal to 5 million metric tonnes per annum.