Impact: Puducherry snubs project

TAKE TO STREETS: The protestors marched, burned ration cards, raised slogans and courted arrest.

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Keywords: Land Scam, Coastline

Puducherry: The residents of Puducherry marched, burned ration cards, raised slogans and courted arrest while protesting against a proposed deep water port in the Thengathittu region.

“We want to bring our cause to the notice of the Assembly during the Budget Session, so we have brought out a rally,” says social activist Balamohan.

The project has met with stiff resistance from the very beginning mainly because it would displace people in several nearby villages, and cause coastal erosion.

A month ago, CNN-IBN had reported that the project could also be the front for a Rs 2700 crore land scam.

A local NGO, Shuddham, picked up the report, put in Tamil sub-titles, and mobilised the locals to organise this protest.

“Three people came and showed us a news report on the port. Only then did we understand what a big fraud the port is,” says a fisherman, Sundarrajan.

An activist with Shuddham Probir Banerjee says, “We had power point presentation which shows scientifically how how this coastal erosion has happened due to the small harbour south of Puducherry. And along with that we would show the CNN-IBN report with Tamil sub-titles.”

A few of the protestors had met the Chief Minister of Puducherry a few days ago and asked him why land was given to the developers despite the High Court categorically stating that the port activities shouldn't begin unless the Environment Ministry gives the go-ahead. The Chief Minister has subsequently passed an order taking back all the land that was given to the developer.

And since government sources have also told CNN-IBN that the project might be called off soon, this is one battle the protesting residents seem set to win.