Thiruvananthapuram: Hundreds of fishermen led by the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum took take part in a march towards the Kerala Secretariat on Wednesday. In a bid to highlight pressing issues, including coastal erosion blamed on the construction of the Vizhinjam Port, protesters spread fishing nets and placed a few boats on the roads leading to the State Capital.

Police, however, prevented vehicles carrying fishing boats at places like Thiruvallam, Enchakkal, General Hospital Junction, and Kazhakootam, leading to heated arguments and minor scuffles.

Some vehicles carrying fishing boats managed to reach the protest site at Museum Junction, near the Secretariat, despite the police action.

The protest leaders warned that they were holding a peaceful agitation and that the government would have to answer for all developments upon attempting to prevent it.

Many priests also took part in the strike.

The traffic came to a standstill at many places as the agitators blockaded roads.

The fisherfolk have been protesting for long against the large-scale coastal erosion. Their main demand is that the government take urgent steps to rehabilitate families who lost houses due to coastal erosion. The representatives of the Latin Archdiocese pointed out that many families in the coastal belt from Pozhiyoor to Varkala and elsewhere live in abject poverty.

Five fishermen, who went out to sea, were recently killed at Vizhinjam, Muthalapozhi, and Chavakkad. The Vizhinjam Port construction is resulting in large-scale coastal erosion, and over 500 houses in the stretch from Veli to Panathura were destroyed, stated General Convenor Msgr Yujin H Perera, the Vicar General, Latin Archdiocese.

Nearly 300 families have been staying at camps set up by Food Corporation of India and on school verandahs since 2018. The authorities are not even willing to visit these centres just 6 km from the Secretariat, the Archdiocese representatives charged.

The Kerala Latin Catholic Association (KLCA) has extended support for the protest.