Protests at Adani Port in Kerala over billionaire’s project

• About 36 police officers were hurt, and a police station was stormed in southern India.
• Protesters prevented construction vehicles from entering the port over the weekend.
• The port is being constructed by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, a company owned by Gautam Adani, the richest man in Asia.

After protests opposing the building of the nation’s largest port turned violent, about 36 police officers were hurt, and a police station was stormed in Kerala, a state in southern India.

In addition, a few demonstrators suffered injuries, and some police cars suffered damage.

The port is being constructed by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, a company owned by Gautam Adani, the richest man in Asia.

Numerous local fishermen, primarily Christians, have been protesting against the $900 million (£744 million) project for approximately three months. They said the building was causing coastal erosion and destroying their way of life. Many of them occupy nearby temporary shelters.

The corporation has refuted this, claiming that sea erosion is a result of climate change and that the project complies with environmental regulations.

The Kerala High Court had ruled last week that the protesters had to abide by its earlier directive for “unhindered entry and egress” to the project site.

However, hundreds of demonstrators prevented the company’s construction vehicles from entering the port over the weekend, leading to many of them being detained.

Conflicts between the police and protestors broke out on Sunday night as protesters attacked a nearby police station and demanded their release.

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But Eugene H Pereira, a vicar general who was one of the conveners of the protest, blamed the police for provoking the protesters, who he said “were ready to leave the area without creating any trouble”.

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“The state government is responsible for the violence. They were doing it to prepare the ground for forcible eviction of the protesters,” he alleged.

Despite the government agreeing to comply with their demands, a state minister denied this and claimed the protesters were still holding up the project.

“They want the port project – which is in the advanced stage of construction – to be abandoned entirely. But that’s not going to benefit them at all,” he told the media.

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The Adani Group moved the state’s high court following the violence, and on Monday, the court ordered the administration to submit a report.

Under the condition of anonymity, an Adani executive told the Media that the blockade, which has been in place for more than 104 days, has caused the business damage totaling about 800 million rupees ($9.8 million; £8.1 million) so far.

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The agreement to construct the port at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, was signed in 2015 by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, India’s largest port operator.

The corporation has nine feeder ports throughout India, and once Vizhinjam is ready, it should be able to handle all of the company’s transshipment needs.

Due to its proximity to international shipping lanes, it has been stated that the port, once finished, will be “India’s gateway to international transshipment.”

The port was supposed to open in 2019, however due to a fatal hurricane that struck the state in 2017, as well as a lack of building supplies, work was put off. The new opening date is September 2023.

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A rehabilitation plan for displaced persons that was initially included in the agreement, according to the opposition Congress party, which was in power when the deal was struck, was allegedly “ignored” by the present administration.

“I have visited these shelters and they are living in the most pathetic situation that I have ever seen in my life,” said party leader VD Satheesan.

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