The Latin Catholic Church has agreed to a temporary truce in its agitation against the Vizhinjam port project.
After a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday, Fr. Eugene Pereira, general convener of the Church-backed Vizhinjam Action Council (VAC), averred that the ‘first phase’ of the agitation was over.
He indicated that VAC activists, predominantly fishers, would no more blockade the project site or impede the breakwater construction.
Fr. Pereira explained the Church’s tack by drawing parallels with the farmers’ agitation in New Delhi. “The farmers have kept their objectives in sight and preserved their agitations’ momentum,” he said.
He said the Church remained acutely aware of the port’s threat to fishers’ livelihood and the marine environment. “For one, we have no clue about the bearings of the shipping channel or how it will impact the coast,” he said.
Political win for govt.
The government apparently authored a somewhat belated political win by achieving a detente without conceding much to the Church. For one, the government remained non-committal to the Church’s demand to drop the criminal cases registered against the top clergy in connection with the 138-day-old strife. “We are all prepared for arrest,” Fr. Pereira said.
He said the VAC denied compensation from the Adani port’s corporate social responsibility fund. Instead, the government agreed that it would underwrite the rental of 182 families displaced by the encroaching sea.
The government also instituted a panel headed by the Chief Secretary to monitor the environmental and social impact of the port in real time.
The government also remained ambivalent about whether it would accommodate the VAC’s nominee on the panel constituted to conduct a social, environmental, and livelihood impact study.
“We are not content. Several issues still need redressal. The government has given some assurances. The Church remains firm on its demand,” Fr. Pereira said.
A VAC member said the “police instigated violence” and communally vitiating and unguarded comments of some clergy members disadvantaged the Church’s cause. Moreover, the Church was mindful that the High Court had taken a dim view of the port blockade despite the VAC’s assurance to the court.
SEE ALSO PAGE 4
The government has given some assurances. The Church remains firm on its demand, says Fr. Eugene PereiraPereira
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