Demands of locals not addressed, Tharoor to skip Vizhinjam port's opening ceremony

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has reaffirmed his decision to abstain from participating in the celebrations marking the "trial run" of a vessel at Vizhinjam Port in his constituency on Friday. He cited unresolved grievances of residents as the primary reason for his absence.

Tharoor emphasized that there has been a lack of progress in addressing the legitimate demands of affected locals for compensation and rehabilitation since the celebration of the first cargo ship's arrival.

"I am a strong supporter of the port project, but ten months after the celebration of the first arrival of a cargo ship (which I attended), there has been no progress on the legitimate demands of the local people for compensation and rehabilitation of those whose lives and livelihoods have been affected. Commitments made by the previous UDF government have not been honoured by the present LDF government. I sincerely hope that the pending issues and grievances of the local community will be visibly and satisfactorily addressed before the Port commences its formal operations later this year," Tharoor said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a big cargo ship called 'San Fernando' from China arrived at Kerala's newly built Vizhinjam International Sea Port on Thursday, marking the first container ship arrival at India's largest transhipment port.

The mothership was given a water salute by four tugs, which piloted it to the dock.

San Fernando, a 300-meter-long cargo ship, will offload 1,900 containers at Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL).

On Friday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will formally welcome the ship.