Expressing its commitment to complete the construction of the Vizhinjam port in a timely manner, the State government has made clear that it will take the lead to address all the pending unresolved issues in the project area through negotiations.
The government gave great consideration to all the reasonable needs raised by the people of the project area, said Port Minister Ahammad Devarkovil on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, under the leadership of Vizhinjam MLA M. Vincent, the Port Minister held a discussion with the people’s representatives and civic leaders of the project area. Stating that the government did not wish to go on the path of confrontation on the issue, Mr. Devarkovil said the State government had given the utmost priority to the needs of local residents regarding the construction of Vizhinjam International Port. Most of the issues raised at different stages of port construction were gently resolved by the government.
The government had listed the major demands raised by the people as the ones that needed to be resolved urgently and those that required more time. Further, a new container freight station to be inaugurated soon on the port premises would provide employment for around 10,000 people. The government had also decided to provide free training to local people in Additional Skill Acquisition Programme Kerala to get skilled workers required for the project.
The Port department also released the details of the projects implemented by the State government for the welfare of the people in the area. All boats were insured so as to facilitate compensation for accidents. To protect the fishermen from accidents, dredging was carried out to avoid accidents involving boats due to high waves in the harbour.
It was also decided to build a new embankment here for which the report submitted by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) study had been approved. A beneficiary list was also prepared to provide housing to 1,062 homeless people under the LIFE Mission scheme to solve housing problems.
