Church opposes massive port project in southern Indian state

The local archdiocese of Trivandrum, in Kerala, said it would oppose the 7 billion rupees port project in Vizhinjam because it would displace thousands of fishermen.  After a pastoral letter issued by the Bishop and read out in all the parishes of the diocese, the State minister for fisheries and ports K. Babu said that the state government is now open to discussions with the Catholic Church.

In his letter, the archbishop warned the government that he could not condone the massive port project in its present form, as it would displace 32 fishing villages in his archdiocese and adversely affect some 50,000 families.

Construction on the project is scheduled to start August 17. The project has already been delayed for almost 24 years, but the government would initiate fresh rounds of talks with all aggrieved stakeholders," James Varghese, principal secretary to the Ministry of Ports, told ucanews.com

The project area covers the majority of fishing settlements under the Latin-rite Trivandrum archdiocese. "We are viewing this as a human rights issue. We are not against development. What we demand is the protection of the rights of a group that is going to suffer the most," the archbishop said. He added that he believes the government wants to ignore protests and go ahead with the project. 

The environmental impact assessment report that justified the project "turned a blind eye to many important aspects, such as how the fishermen will be affected when the project is implemented," the archbishop said.

T. Peter, national secretary of the National Fishworkers' Forum said,  that "things stated by the archbishop in his pastoral letter are factually correct."The Catholic Church in Kerala state is home to three rites, namely the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara and Latin rite. Two archdioceses belonging to the two different Syro-Malankara and Latin rites have the same Trivandrum name. (UCAN)