SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 8 November 2024, Friday |

Protests at Adani’s south India port block restart of construction

The Adani Group of India was unable to resume construction on a $900 million transhipment port on the southern tip of the country because of protesters from a nearby fishing hamlet, a company representative said on Saturday.

Construction at Adani’s Vizhinjam seaport has been put on hold for more than three months as a result of protesters’ large shelter blocking the port entrance. The protesters, who were mostly Christians and were led by Catholic priests, claimed the development had caused coastal erosion and deprived them of their livelihoods.

The Adani Group, led by world’s third-richest man Gautam Adani, attempted to move heavy vehicles into the port on Saturday following a court directive this week that construction work must resume, but protesters blocked them from entering, an Adani spokesperson in the southern state of Kerala told Reuters.

Around 25 trucks had tried to enter the port and were forced to turn back after two were hit by stones thrown by the protesters, the spokesperson added.

Calls to senior state police officials went unanswered.

    Source:
  • Reuters