[Reader-list] Fwd: Fishermen, greens flay seaplane project

[T Peter]

Fishermen, greens flay seaplane project
http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Fishermen-greens-flay-seaplane-project/2013/05/31/article1613577.ece

By Nidheesh J Villatt | ENS - KOCHI

31st May 2013 12:00 PM

Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee, local bodies and
environmental groups have expressed serious concerns over the
inauguration of the seaplane project in the state. V Dinakaran and V V
Sasheendhran, chairman and general convener of the coordination
committee said: “The government has betrayed fishing communities by
backing from a promise that it will address the anxieties of
fishermen.”

“We had raised our concerns in a meeting with the Fisheries and
Tourism ministers on May 22. The ministers promised us that they will
communicate our concerns to the Chief Minister. They also said that
the project will be inaugurated only after addressing our concerns.
But now, we are surprised at the pace of the inaugural process,”
Dinakaran said. Sasheendhran said that fisherfolk will be eventually
thrown out of their livelihood.

“Since many years, influential business groups have been
systematically buying and encroaching upon areas of coastal land. Now
they are eying common resources like lakes.

“A critical scrutiny of the Detailed Project Report(DPR) on the
seaplane project prepared by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd gives enough
hints that fisherfolk  will have to put up with stringent regulatory
measures for smooth operation of the private sector,” he added. T J
Anjelose and T Peter, leaders of the coordination committee said that
the government’s decision reflected severe neglect of the fishing
community by the UDF Government.

The committee is planning to launch a token strike on Sunday. “We will
intensify the struggle in the coming days. We had visited the proposed
site in Alappuzha district. Hundreds of acres of land in the Vemaband
lake have been earmarked for the project,” Anjelose said.

Joji Kuttumel, chairman of the Vembanad Kayal Protection Forum, said
that the project can damage ecology of the lake. Deepak Dayanandan,
ecologist and KSSP leader said that the authorities are violating
several environmental guidelines in its urge to implement the project.

“The Vembanad Lake is a ‘Ramsar’ site and has also been notified as a
Critical Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA) in the Coastal Regulation Zone
notification, 2011. There are clear guidelines banning construction
for commercial purposes,” Deepak said.

Deepa Ajithkumar and P A Jumailath, presidents of Muhamma and
Mannancherry panchayats in Alappuzha said that the the State
Government never consulted the local bodies regarding the project.