MUMBAI, April 15: Around 3,000 fishermen, farmers and workers congregated at a rally at Azad Maidan to condemn the proposed port project in Dahanu district, to be built by Australian MNC P & O.Cautioned Rambhau Patil, president, Vadhavan Bandar Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti. "On one side of the proposed port, there is the Tarapore nuclear plant and thousands of chemical plants. On the other side are the Dahanu thermal power centre and the Gujarat Industrial Estate. And just two kilometres into the sea is the Pakistan border," explained Patil.Vadhavan has the highest density of fish, he pointed out, and around 90,000 people make their living out of fishing, and a port will destroy all that, he added. "If at least 50 per cent of existing ports are modernised, there will be no need to construct any more. And with the Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports, what is the need for one more?" he asked.A resident of that area said though villagers will not be forced to leave, the water displaced due to the portconstruction would flood fields, rendering them untillable. Added Subhash Tamore from Dahanu, "We earn Rs 600 crore as revenue and Rs 200 crore as foreign currency for the government, and we will not allow them to treat us in such a filthy manner."
