Thiruvananthapuram: Hours after Latin Church Vicar General Fr Eugene Pereira declared his decision to boycott the government's official ceremony for welcoming the first ship in Vizhinjam International Seaport, a parish under it asserted its intention to participate.
The vicar of the Vizhnijam parish said Minister Saji Cheriyan has assured them that all their 18 demands will be fulfilled by the government.
The priest added that the parish heads took the decision to attend the ceremony in a meeting on Friday without discussing with the Latin Church authority.
The government has issued an order increasing the compensation for catamaran fishers who will face job loss in Vizhinjam. As per the revised order, 53 catamaran fishers will get a compensation of Rs 4.20 lakh each. Catamaran fishers are those fisherfolk who depend on rudimentary wooden craft for fishing.
Earlier, the government had decided to give Rs 82,440 to these people. It is learnt that the huge hike in the compensation impressed the parish.
The parish vicar told Manorama News that the government makes efforts to ensure the welfare of the people and the parish decided to cooperate with the event in view of this.
The grand ceremony will be held on Sunday at 4 pm. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister for Ports Sarbananda Sonowal will attend the event.
