Hundreds of fishermen from Enayam in Kanniyakumari district staged a fast protesting against shifting of commercial port project to Enayam from Colachel on Monday.
President of Movement Against Enayam International Container Transhipment Project Dullus headed the protestors, who included Imam of the local mosque Latheef and Fr. A. Anbarasan of Enayam church. Those who addressed the protestors expressed fear of severe sea erosion which could affect the livelihood of the fishermen if the port, proposed to be established on over 500 acres of sea area, was shifted to Enayam. The project would displace thousands of fishermen from coastal villages, they claimed.
If the project was implemented, seashore would vanish, leaving the fishermen with no space to carry out their fishing and other related activities. Sea water would make groundwater brackish, they alleged.
The six-km-long breakwater structure to be constructed as part of the project would cause sea erosion, affecting 50 villages spread over 68 km from Nerodi to Kanniyakumari, they said.
Fr. Anbarasan told The Hindu that they had planned fast in all coastal villages on a daily basis from Monday.
