PM Modi To Lay Foundation Stone Of Vadhavan Port At Palghar Today Amid Protests From Fishermen; Videos

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Mumbai and is set to perform the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for the Rs 76,200-crore Vadhavan port project in Maharashtra's Palghar district. However, the event which is scheduled at 1.30 pm which will also mark the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is receiving opposition from the fishermen community.

"The Vadhavan port project is opposed by all fishermen community and Koliwadas across the state. The fishermen will protest throughout the day today," Akhil Maharashtra Macchimar Kruti Samiti President Devendra Tandel informed the media. Meanwhile, the fishermen from a Dahanu village have put out a boat rally with black flags and balloons protesting against the project.

What Is The Vadhavan Port Project

The port, located around 130 km north of Mumbai near Dahanu in Maharashtra's west coast is an all-weather Greenfield deep-draft major port off the Arabian Sea. It was approved by the union cabinet in June and is set to be the biggest port in the country. It will be the 13th port in India with a capacity of around 298 million tonnes.

The port will be developed by Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed for the implementation of the project with equity from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB).

The strategic placement of the Vadhavan Port will facilitate the call of container traffic. The port will bridge international and Indian coasts that will accelerate the economies of scale and mitigate the logistics cost. The total project cost, including the component of land acquisition, is Rs 76,220 Crore.

Why The Project Is Opposed

The local villagers, fishermen, farmers and enviornmentalists claim that the project would cause harm to the environment. The locals also fear of being thrown out after the construction of the port. They have united under the Vadhavan Bandar Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (VBVSS) to halt the construction of the project.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had declared Dahanu an ecologically fragile area and restricted setting up industries that harm the environment, the local villagers highlight.