Cops' way of dealing with protesters against LPG Terminal has only worsened local residents' ire.
Kochi: The popular discontent in Puthvypeen against the 6-lakh tonne LPG Terminal with an estimated cost of Rs 715 crore promoted by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has erupted into a virtual revolt against the project, aided by the alleged police high handedness. The successive police action on June 14 and 15 culminating in yet another baton charge on Sunday has placed a question mark over the future of the project. The IOCL officials are bewildered by the sudden spurt in the agitation against the project as the same locality is having the 5-million tonne capacity LNG Terminal and the Kochi Refinery’s pumping station. According to an IOC spokesperson, the safety concerns over the LPG Terminal is baseless and the protestors’ concerns are unwarranted. “We cannot undertake a project like this without adhering to globally accepted safety standards and protocols”, said the IOCL official.
LPG Import Terminal is having all the statutory approvals including Environmental Clearance, said the IOCL official. “The LPG Storage tanks will be in the form of "Mounded Bullets" which is the safest method of storage of LPG worldwide”, he added. The Mounded Bullets method has been approved by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) of the Union Government. The Tanks are covered by reinforced cement concrete walls on all sides. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai had conducted a study on the sea shore protection aspect of the project and has given their clearance for the same, says the IOCL official. The local residents living right across the street of the project site, however, are not convinced by the arguments put forward by IOCL and those supporting the project. The police handling the agitation of the committee spearheading the protest has only accentuated the opposition against the project says Ms. Saritha, a former member of the Elankunnapuzha panchayat and a resident of the area. The police action has been condemned by a slew of political parties including the CPI.
The organizations working in the area of fisher folks have also condemned the police action and asked the government initiate action against officers responsible for the attack. The Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation and National Fish Workers Forum have condemned the police action. The IOCL is undertaking the construction in complete violation of the CRZ norms, said T Peter and Jackson Pollayil, leaders of these organizations. “The government should take immediate steps to initiate talks with those opposing the project to resolve the matter amicably”, they said in a statement. Fisheries Coordination Committee general convener Charles George said a hartal will be held at the coastal areas of Ernakulam district on Monday. He said an informal understanding has been reached during the discussions with Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Ammal on Friday to suspend all work connected with the project.
The decision to resume the work on Sunday was in violation of the understanding reached with the minister, he added. CPI-ML (Red Star), Congress and several others have also called for hartal in the Vypen area while Welfare Party of India has called for observing a district wise hartal on Monday. The government will be in a piquant situation to resolve the crisis in view of the hardening position following the police action. The government has already completed three rounds of discussion with the committee spearheading the agitation for the past four months. According to the IOCL spokesman the work on the project has been stalled since February resulting in a loss of Rs 1 cr per day. The project is originally scheduled to be commissioned in 2018.
