Eerie calm prevails at Vizhinjam as tension hangs thick in the air

As many as 38 police personnel and over 30 protesters were injured when the latter waged a pitched battle with police in front of the police station.

A day after the violent protest at Vizhinjam, an eerie calm prevails in large swaths of the coastal region with a huge posse of police personnel standing guard in the villages to prevent any further untoward incidents. The protesters led by the Latin Archdiocese, Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday unleashed a reign of terror by attacking Vizhinjam police station which send police personnel scurrying for safety and holding them hostage for hours.

As many as 38 police personnel and over 30 protesters were injured when they waged a pitched battle with police in front of the police station. The police on Monday registered cases against over 3,000 people in connection with the violence which caused a loss to the tune of ₹85 lakhs of public property. Shops remained closed and streets were largely empty in the morning as protesters blocked the roads with fishing vessels. The calm also conveyed the shock and tension prevailing in the region, while the police started clearing the roads by 10 a.m. to facilitate the traffic of private and public vehicles.

Meanwhile, the police have released four out of five protesters taken into custody under station bail, while one protester identified as Selton who was under the custody of the police was remanded in judicial custody. An all-party meeting will soon start under the leadership of district administration to restore normalcy in the region, while another round of conciliatory with church representatives will also begin soon.

While seeking a judicial probe into the violence, Vicar general Eugine Pereira blamed the police for the escalating violence. It was a well-scripted plot by the police to sabotage the fishermen’s strike against the Vizhinjam International Seaport. They first created provocation by arresting people who were not part of the protest, said Fr. Pereira.

Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil said that the State government was at wit’s end as each time the protesters come up with new demands. The violence on the scale that the State witnessed on Sunday cannot be taken lightly, said the minister. Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court would hear a contempt of court petition filed by Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited against the State government for not complying with the court’s directive to provide security cover for carrying out the Vizhinjam port construction works.

The court has earlier directed the protesters to comply with its orders for unhindered ingress and egress to the project site, and subsequently, the protesters assured that they would not block the vehicle to the project site. But throwing the assurance to the winds, the protesters on Saturday blocked the entry of vehicles to the project site which led to a fresh bout of violence between pro-port activists and protesters. The protesters have been blocking the port construction over the last six months alleging that the work has aggravated the coastal erosion in the region, imperiling their livelihood.