Fishermen Protests

Fisherfolk camped in a makeshift shelter at Vizhinjam, in the state of Kerala since September, have blocked vehicles and halted work on a project they blame for coastal erosion

Govt has already told agitators that construction work won't be stopped, but is said to have accepted all their demands

On October 21, the Indian Navy ship on patrol in the Palk Bay near the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) fired shots at a fishing boat which had 10 people in board.

Kerala's under-construction Vizhinjam port on Monday witnessed an unprecedented style of agitation with protesting fisherfolk surrounding the strategically important site from the sea on boats, even as others on land entered its premises by breaking open its huge gates. Representatives of the protesting fisherfolk, who were hailed as Kerala's own army for their adventurous rescue operations in flood-hit areas of the state in 2018, had on Sunday made clear their intention to block the port from the sea, to intensify their agitation after talks with the state government last week failed. On Monday, the fisherfolk not only blocked the port from the sea, but on land many of them climbed over the gates and broke the locks from the inside, letting through the horde of protestors waiting outside. Visuals aired on TV channels showed how the police, who were deployed there since morning in huge numbers, stood helplessly as the protestors climbed over the gates and broke the locks. The ...

The fishermen have been on the protest since March 7