More than 8,000 people – mostly fishermen, farmers and other residents from Mumbai to Maharashtra’s last village Zai, gathered at the Vadhavan coast on Sunday to protest against a proposed port. Recently, the Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority (DTEPA) had given the nod, paving the way ahead for the Vadhavan Port project.
Vadhavan Bander Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (VBVSS) that includes local residents, fisherfolk, farmers and tribals from Dahanu and 14 other non-political institutions organised the protest seeking cancellation of the order.
Vadhavan port is declared as the 13th major port of India and the proposed site is said to have a draft of over 18 meters depth. An attempt to construct a port at Vadhavan was made in 1997 by an Australian company. However, the Dahanu Taluka Environmental Protection Authority (DTEPA) had refused clearance.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Maharashtra Maritime Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Jun 5, 2015, for the development of Vadhavan Port. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued a notification on April 30, 2020, which mentioned the ports in the non-industrial operation category.
Following this, the Ministry of Environment and Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC) issued a notification stating that the activity of the port does not fall under the red category. These developments cleared the way for the construction of the port at Vadhavan. JNPA applied to DTEPA for permission and obtained no objections to the construction of the port at Vadhavan on July 31.
Loss of livelihood
The protesters believe that the port will cause a loss of livelihood for the fishing community, the construction of the port in the sea will displace water and cause erosion. The water would enter in the coastal belt villages and the loss of biodiversity in the fishing golden belt of the Arabian ocean are few of the reasons for the opposition.
18 representatives from different organisations demanded immediate cancellation of proposed port-making process. Brian Lobo, an activist of Katkari Sanghatana and a member of the DTEPA said no legal procedures were followed during the hearing of the case of JNPA by DTEPA.
Resistance at any cost
Kaluram Dhodade, the founder of Bhumisena, a tribal organisation told the women gathering that they should protest against whosoever comes for the port work to this side and be ready to die for the benefit of the next generations.
Sanjay Mongo, national coordinator of Jan Andolan said that the existence of water is the existence of life. Jaykumar Bhay, president of a district-level fishermen society said that the Modi government should shift the port to Gujarat in order to restore peace in this area.