Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) launches Public Awareness March to support Fishermen

The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) launched a “Jana bodhana yatra” (Public Awareness March on foot) on September 14 from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram, siding with the coastal masses of Thiruvananthapuram who are leading the legendary movement for survival and livelihood protection.

Fishermen and coastal residents have been protesting for the past 50 days at Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram demanding rehabilitation with fair compensation for the families evicted for port construction. They are also asking for effective prevention of coastal erosion caused by the unscientific construction of Vizhinjam port.

Coastal erosion has occurred at an extreme rate when mega projects have been developed offshore in Vallarpadam container terminal at Kochi and Vizhinjam deep-sea port in Thiruvananthapuram. After the construction of Vizhinjam port started in 2015, the coastal erosion became more severe and even the internationally renowned Kovalam beach is now in ruins.

The fishermen-families who lost their land and homes are living in inhumane conditions in relief camps several years after they were forcibly evacuated. The government has not responded positively to the protests, nor done anything to protect their lives and jobs.

Similarly, the evictees at Moolampally for the Kochi Container Terminal Project are staying in temporary settlements for over a decade, since they have not been settled by Government.

The March began in Moolampally and will end in Vizhinjam.

Inaugurating the march at Kochi, Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparampil of Verapuzha, said that “the church decided to support the cause because “justice is being denied to the coastal people and the evacuees.”

The loss of abode and livelihood of the fishermen of Vizhinjam and of the families in Moolmpally due to eviction for port building projects is a humanitarian crisis and the entire Church in Kerala has come out in support of the protesters.

Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and the President of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, addressed the rally at Rajendra Stadium, Kochi. He said that the government’s failure to properly resettle those displaced as part of development projects is a serious lapse.

He continued that Governments should consult the people who will be affected, before implementing major projects, which also need study by expert committees on environmental impacts. Both these things were absent in the case of Vizhinjam and Vallarpadom projects.

Flagging off the walk, KRLCC president said that “this is a journey with the determination to get justice for those who were displaced from Moolampilly and those who suffered due to the unscientific construction of Vizhinjam port.”

“With this strike, the Kerala community wants to remind the authorities who are turning their backs on the issues of human life that the coastal residents are not alone.”

The March will end in Thiruvananathapuram on September 18. It started in Verapuzha archdiocese on September 14. It will be led by the Kochi diocese on the second day and by Alapuzha and Kollam dioceses on the third and fourth days. It is also supported by various Church organizations as well as people’s movements, irrespective of religion and politics.

The church in Kerala is not against development projects. In the past, a church and cemetery were voluntarily handed over for the construction of Cochin Shipyard and Thumba Rocket Launch Center. Today Church is only asking for a decent settlement of those evicted forcibly and demanding scientific study for the protection of the environment.

The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) was formed in 2002 by the Latin Catholic Bishops’ Council, as a policy-making body of Latin Catholics in Kerala and serves as an umbrella body for all the organizations working within the Latin Church.

All the Bishops and Vicars General of the Latin dioceses, the heads of the religious congregations, and the representative of priests and laity from all Latin dioceses and leaders of Lay Associations are members of the KRLCC. The President and the Deputy Secretary of the Bishops’ Council are respectively the President and General Secretary of KRLCC. This body ensures the co-operation and participation of all sections of the Latin Church in policy making.