The agitation against the Vizhinjam international seaport led by the coastal community under the stewardship of the Latin Catholic Church in Thiruvananthapuram turned aggressive on Thursday—the 100th day of the protest—when a fishing boat was burned down and agitators forcibly entered the project site.
While a section of agitators reached the port in fishing boats, many entered the construction site by breaking open the gates. Later, a fishing boat was set on fire. The agitators also had an altercation with the police force, while barricades put up by the cops were thrown into the sea.
A section of media persons who were reporting on the stir also faced the protestors’ ire, and a camera equipment of one of the media organisations was damaged in the melee.
Kerala education minister V Sivankutty alleged that there were attempts to unleash riots in the state. The government was maintaining utmost restraint from using force, he said.
Despite repeated High Court directives that the stir should not affect the port construction, there has been no progress as the project remained at a standstill for the past 100 days.
Sivankutty, who is an MLA from Thiruvananthapuram, said that all the demands of the agitators, except for stopping the port constriction work, were met by the government. “It is not possible to stop the project, but it seems that the agitators want to unleash a riot. They should keep off from such moves,” he urged.