THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi (JPS), a group supporting the port project at Vizhinjam, alleged conspiracy in the Church-led protest against the project. “The protest started after it was announced that the first ship will dock at the port by January next year. It is a ploy to make money,” said BJP leader and JPS general secretary Venganoor Gopakumar.
The organisation demanded the Latin Church to shift the protest venue from the project site to the front of the secretariat. They also alleged that the police were siding with the protestors and the restrictions imposed in the area due to the protest had made their lives difficult. According to Gopakumar, the protestors from outside could not reach the venue without the support of police. Hence, he urged the police to stop the entry of protestors coming from north and south.
The demand came at a time various organisations and activists have started a march which is expected to reach the protest site on September 18. “It is the people from Mulloor who have lost their land and livelihood for the project. Now, their lives have been affected due to the undue restrictions imposed by the police in the area. We are supportive of the demands of fishermen except the one on stopping the project,” said JPS working chairman Mulloor Sreekumar.
Earlier, another organisation named Kerala State Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi founded by late justice V R Krishna Iyer had extended support for the coastal protest against Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport.
The protest led by the Latin archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram has the support of Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, fishermen unions, Coastal Area Development Agency for Liberation, and social and environmental activists.