Thiruvananthapuram: The vehement protest by the fisherfolk against the under-construction Vizhinjam Port project is still on despite efforts by the government.
A meeting called by the Cabinet sub-committee to resolve the issue did not take place on Sunday as the representatives of the Latin Archdiocese did not turn up for the talks.
Mon. Eugine H Pereira, general convener of the Vizhinjam Samara Samithi (Vizhinjam Protest Forum), said that the government did not officially invite them for the talks and there was no formal communication.
Assuming that the representatives would come for the discussions, members of the ministerial-level committee V Abdurahiman, V Sivankutty and Antony Raju waited at the chamber of Abdurahiman.
The Office of the Minister for Fisheries said that the protesters were officially informed that the talks would be held at 6 pm on Sunday.
There are indications that the talks could be held with the Cabinet sub-committee on Monday.
Archdiocese’s circular
A circular of the Latin Archdiocese, meanwhile, stated that the protest against the port project is a struggle for survival.
The government has not taken the people of Vizhinjam into confidence and that the protest would be intensified, the circular stated.
The circular, by Archbishop Dr Thomas J Netto, was read out at all churches on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the representatives of the Latin Archdiocese would file a plea in the Kerala High Court on Monday, seeking to be added as a party to the petition filed by the Adani Group on the matter of port construction.
