The National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) on Sunday cautioned that fishermen from Goa would face situation like Kerala if the Sagarmala Project is not scrapped.

The forum demanded that the government should immediately stop port expansion plans in Kerala.

NFF General Secretary Olencio Simoes said that NFF ended its third State “Machhimar Sangharsh Yatra” at Kerala, where the team visited affected Valiyathura village in Thiruvananthapuram, where nearly 400 families have been displaced because of sea erosion due to dredging of Vizhinjan seaport.

Simoes demanded that the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways should immediately stop port expansion plans in Kerala.

“During the yatra, the NFF team highlighted that Goa’s fishermen and coastal dwellers would meet the same fate if the Goa government doesn’t scrap Sagarmala plans in the State,” he said.

The NFF general secretary also demanded that the Union government should pass the Coastal Rights Bill in order to protect the livelihood of people engaged in or depending on fishing activities.

Meanwhile, the fourth “Machhimar Sangharsh Yatra will be held in Goa on June 16 and 17. NFF Chairperson Leo Colaco, Vice Chairperson K Yellayya and other Union members will visit highly affected areas where fishermen have been deprived of their rights and livelihood.