Fishermen from Vypeen Island under the aegis of Theeradesa Matsya Thozhilali Union protested against dredging operations off the island’s coast on Tuesday demanding that the dredged material should not be dumped in such a way that it affected fish availability and livelihood of fishermen.
Charles George of Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi, who inaugurated the protest action, said that if the authorities did not call fishermen for talks, they would intensify the protest. Fishermen from the island have been struggling in the face of depleted fish resources.
The same fishermen were in the forefront of the rescue operations in the State during the mid-August floods. However, the question now was who would save the saviours, he said.
Protest meeting
Fishermen initially gathered on the coast in a protest meeting before venturing out into the sea in a dozen small fishing boats.
They prevented dredging operations for about an hour before calling off their protest, Coastal Police sources said. The dredging operations are being carried out to increase the depth of the waters for the LNG terminal on the island.
Mr. George claimed that according to an understanding, the dredged materials should be dumped about 17 km off the coast.
However, the material were being dumped on the coast, which was being washed back into the sea.
