MUMBAI
\nA Hindu group close to India\u2019s ruling party will on Wednesday march in support of a $900 million port project by the Adani Group which has been stalled by Christian protesters, as tensions rise after clashes in which 80 people were injured.
\nConstruction work at the project in Vizhinjam, in Kerala state, has been halted for almost four months by protesters from the fishing community, led by Catholic priests, blocking the site\u2019s entrance with a makeshift shelter.
\nThey blame the port\u2019s development for coastal erosion that has hit their livelihoods, an accusation billionaire Gautam Adani\u2019s conglomerate denies.
\nSupporters of the port, including members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s party and Hindu groups, have set up their own shelters, as the two sides face off across the street.
\nThey say the port will create jobs in the region.
\nThe port is of strategic importance to both India and Adani, Asia\u2019s wealthiest man and the world\u2019s third-richest. Once completed, it will become India\u2019s first container transhipment hub, rivalling Dubai, Singapore and Sri Lanka for business on the lucrative east-west trade routes.
\nThe march by the Hindu United Front on Wednesday will have more than 1,000 people calling for construction to resume, the group\u2019s convener K P Sasikala told Reuters.
\nKerala state police have already sent reinforcements to the Vizhinjam area after villagers stormed a police station late Sunday in clashes that left 80 people injured, including 36 police.
\nA senior police official outside the port confirmed he was aware of the march plans of the Hindu United Front, adding they remain on high alert to prevent any possible clashes between protesters and supporters at the port entrance.
\nThe protests have continued despite repeated orders by Kerala state\u2019s top court to allow construction to restart.
\nHowever, police have for weeks largely been unwilling to take action, fearful that doing so will set off social and religious tensions, Reuters has previously reported.
\nThe first phase of construction was due to be completed by end-2024. The Adani Group has said in court filings that the protests have caused \u201cimmense loss\u201d and \u201cconsiderable delay\u201d.
\nThe villagers have refused to budge, saying they will only remove their shelter – a 1,200 square feet structure consisting of poles holding up a corrugated iron-roof – once the project\u2019s construction is called off.
\n\u201cThe protests will continue,\u201d one of the protest leaders, Joy Jerald, told Reuters near the shelter on Tuesday.
\nThe Adani Group says the port complies with all laws and has cited studies that show it is not linked to shoreline erosion. The state government also says any erosion was due to natural causes.
\nAdani has previously faced protests in Australia, where environmental activists had launched a \u201cStop Adani\u201d movement to protest his Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland state. There, activists concerned about carbon emissions and damage to the Great Barrier Reef forced Adani to downsize production targets and delayed the first shipment from the mine by years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MUMBAI A Hindu group close to India\u2019s ruling party will on Wednesday march in support of a $900 million port project by the Adani Group which has been stalled by Christian protesters, as tensions rise after clashes in which 80 people were injured. Construction work at the project in Vizhinjam, in Kerala state, has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-298528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n