Indian state will proceed 'no matter what' with protest-hit Adani port | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
May 30, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2025
Indian state will proceed 'no matter what' with protest-hit Adani port

South Asia

Reuters
03 December, 2022, 03:10 pm
Last modified: 03 December, 2022, 03:13 pm

Related News

  • Assam family alleges 2 people illegally pushed back to Bangladesh; Gauhati High Court seeks state's response
  • India for 'inclusive, fair, free' polls in Bangladesh at an early date
  • BSF reportedly pushes 43 people more into Bangladesh
  • Google begins direct online sales of Pixel phones in India
  • Shrimp fry worth Tk1cr seized in Cumilla while being smuggled to India

Indian state will proceed 'no matter what' with protest-hit Adani port

Reuters
03 December, 2022, 03:10 pm
Last modified: 03 December, 2022, 03:13 pm
Police officers stand guard near the barricades during a protest rally by the supporters of the proposed Vizhinjam port project in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Munsif Vengattil/File Photo
Police officers stand guard near the barricades during a protest rally by the supporters of the proposed Vizhinjam port project in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Munsif Vengattil/File Photo

India's Kerala state will proceed "no matter what" with a $900 million port project and is open to deploying federal police if needed to protect it from protesters blocking construction, a government minister told Reuters on Saturday.

The local fishing community, led by Catholic priests, has blocked construction of Vizhinjam port by Adani Group for almost four months, erecting a makeshift shelter at the port's entrance. The protesters say the huge project causes coastal erosion that has undermined their livelihoods, calling for a complete halt on the construction.

Adani Group, led by Asia's richest man Gautam Adani, and the Kerala government, which is shouldering two-thirds of the project cost with the federal government, have denied such accusations. Clashes between police and protesters last weekend injured more than 100 people, including 64 police.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Although the protesters have refused to budge, Kerala's minister of ports, Ahammed Devarkovil, said the government of the southern state was hopeful of resolving the deadlock but there was no chance it would halt construction.

"We want to complete the port project no matter what. No compromise can be made on that," he said in an interview. "Because these are civilians protesting, the government's position is to take this forward without inflicting any harm" on protesters.

Asked for comment on Devarkovil's remarks, a protest leader, Fredy Solomon, said protests would continue as "houses and livelihoods of thousands of fishermen are at stake."

Adani Group did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. The conglomerate has repeatedly urged a state court to authorise having the federal police guard the project so work may resume, saying local police were "mute spectators".

Minister Devarkovil said Kerala remains open to the idea of deploying the federal Central Reserve Police Force.

Adani wants to complete the first phase of construction by December 2024, but Devarkovil said his government was hopeful of getting the first vessel to the port by September next year, even as construction continues. It wants to make up for lost time by deploying workers to work extra hours and putting more industrial equipment to use.

"Adani Group is willing to do that," Devarkovil said.

Gautam Adani, whose empire spans gas and power projects as well as a ports and logistics business valued at some $23.5 billion, has described Vizhinjam as an "unmatched location" on the critical east-west shipping route.

"The possibilities being opened up by Vizhinjam port are unmatched by any other in India," Devarkovil said. "We will be set to grab business from Sri Lanka port."

World+Biz

Adani port / India / Protests

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    'Heavy to very heavy' rainfall expected across country as land depression weakens further
  • Aminul Islam Bulbul. Photo: Collected
    Aminul Islam set to take charge as new BCB president
  • Saleh Uddin Ahmed. Sketch: TBS
    Govt working to fulfil 3 responsibilities - election, some reforms, outlining sectoral reform: Salehuddin

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Courtesy
    New notes featuring historic, archaeological structures of Bangladesh to be circulated from 1 June
  • Two Memoranda of Understanding were signed at the seminar titled “Bangladesh Seminar on Human Resources,” in Tokyo on 29 May 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    Japan to recruit 100,000 Bangladeshi workers over next 5 years
  • BAT Bangladesh has to vacate Mohakhali HQ as SC rejects lease appeal
    BAT Bangladesh has to vacate Mohakhali HQ as SC rejects lease appeal
  • Representational Photo: Collected
    Country's all jewellery shops to remain indefinitely closed in protest of VP Reponul's arrest: Bajus
  • Khondoker Rashed Maqsood. File Photo: Collected
    Investors urge removal of BSEC chairman in meeting with CA’s special assistant, submit list of demands
  • Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh repays $3.5b foreign debt in 10 months of FY25

Related News

  • Assam family alleges 2 people illegally pushed back to Bangladesh; Gauhati High Court seeks state's response
  • India for 'inclusive, fair, free' polls in Bangladesh at an early date
  • BSF reportedly pushes 43 people more into Bangladesh
  • Google begins direct online sales of Pixel phones in India
  • Shrimp fry worth Tk1cr seized in Cumilla while being smuggled to India

Features

Babar Ali, Ikramul Hasan Shakil, and Wasfia Nazreen are leading a bold resurgence in Bangladeshi mountaineering, scaling eight-thousanders like Everest, Annapurna I, and K2. Photos: Collected

Back to 8000 metres: How Bangladesh’s mountaineers emerged from a decade-long pause

1h | Panorama
Photos: Courtesy

Behind the looks: Bangladeshi designers shaping celebrity fashion

3h | Mode
Photo collage of the sailors and their catch. Photos: Shahid Sarkar

Between sky and sea: The thrilling life afloat on a fishing ship

8h | Features
For hundreds of small fishermen living near this delicate area, sustainable fishing is a necessity for their survival. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain

World Ocean Day: Bangladesh’s ‘Silent Island’ provides a fisheries model for the future

1d | The Big Picture

More Videos from TBS

Six MoUs signed during Chief Advisor's visit to Japan

Six MoUs signed during Chief Advisor's visit to Japan

2h | TBS Today
Record migrant deaths in 2024

Record migrant deaths in 2024

21h | Podcast
Govt likely to trim subsidies in new budget

Govt likely to trim subsidies in new budget

5h | TBS Insight
News of The Day, 29 MAY 2025

News of The Day, 29 MAY 2025

23h | TBS News of the day
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net