Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has decided to initiate discussions with the Adani Group to address the Muthalapozhi issue.
Fisheries minister Saji Cherian and ministers V Sivankutty and G R Anil held a discussion with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday to discuss the way forward.
'The government will hold a discussion with Adani Group on Tuesday and ensure that they honour the conditions in the contract,' Minister Saji Cherian said.
The minister also assured that the government will protect the families of the four fishermen who lost their lives at Muthalapozhi last week. A relief package will be annnounced to address the issue.
68 fishermen have died in the last eight years in the Muthalapozhi estuary. The last four were killed on July 10, when their boat was thrown up by the waves as it was about to enter the sea from the channel.
The sand deposited by both the lake and the sea form underwater hillocks in Muthalapozhi affecting the smooth navigation of boats. Under an MoU signed with the Harbour Engineering Department (HED) in 2018, Adani Ports was tasked with dredging the 'navigation channel' and maintaining its depth at 5 metres, so that fishing boats do not even scrape its base on sand or rock.
Keeping the channel free of sand hillocks was the only condition asked of Adani Ports when it was offered free land just south of the left Muthalapozhi breakwater to construct a berth where rocks sourced from quarries within and outside Kerala could be stocked before being moved in barges to the Vizhinjam port site.
Adani Ports has not kept its side of the bargain in the last two years.
Central team
Meanwhile, an expert team on central deputation visited the Muthalapozhi harbour along with Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Monday.
The team comprises Fisheries Development Commissioner, Fisheries Assistant Commissioner and CICEF Director.
The central intervention comes after Muraleedharan roped in Union Cabinet Minister of Fisheries Parshottam Rupala about the situation. After the meeting, Rupala said that the Central Government will study the matter and check the area for unscientific constructions.
The Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), which was given the responsibility of studying the issue and suggesting solutions 10 months ago, has not submitted a report on the matter yet.
