Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. (File photo)
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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor urged the Centre to release a relief package for the coastal community, days after protests against the Adani international seaport at Kerala’s Vizhinjam ended.
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Invoking Rule 377 during the ongoing Parliament session, which allows a member of the House to bring up matters of importance, the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram stressed the “imperative need to address the woes of the coastal community, particularly the fisherfolk”.
Tharoor said that the Vizhinjam seaport is of significance and as the impasse over it has ended, the government should immediately rehabilitate persons affected along the coastline. He also urged the government to conduct a study of coastal erosion along southern Kerala’s coastline.
The anti-seaport protests ended on Tuesday after 138 days, concluding demonstrations outside the main entrance of the multi-purpose sea port at Mulloor. Protestors had been pressing for their seven-point charter of demands that include stopping the construction work and to conduct a coastal impact study in connection with the multi-crore project. The protesters had been alleging that the unscientific construction of groynes, the artificial sea walls as part of the upcoming port, was one of the reasons for the increasing coastal erosion.
The High Court, in its interim order on October 19, made it clear to remove obstructions created by protesters at the entrance of the port and asked the state government to implement it.
Tharoor, however, had earlier said that the Vizhinjam project will contribute in a major way to the development of India and south India in particular. “We want to ensure peace and both sides should not take extreme steps,” he said.
