Protesters hold 'rasta roko' against proposed Vadhavan port; highway traffic hit for hours

Hundreds of people held a rasta roko protest on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtras Palghar on Thursday to oppose the proposed Vadhavan Port project in the district, bringing traffic to a halt for hours. The protest began at noon and ended by 2.30 pm, following which the movement of traffic was restored, a police official said.

Hundreds of people held a 'rasta roko' protest on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtra's Palghar on Thursday to oppose the proposed Vadhavan Port project in the district, bringing traffic to a halt for hours. The road blockade was held at the Charoti toll plaza on the highway between 12 noon to 2.30 pm, during which villagers and fishermen from the region waved black flags and raised slogans against the multi-crore greenfield port. The local people say the project would sound the death knell for their livelihoods. They want to hold a dialogue with the state government and the Centre so that their concerns are addressed.

Vadhavan is a village in Dahanu taluka of the district. The Vadhavan Port is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board and has received in-principle approval from the Centre in February 2020, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority has earlier said. The port construction would not render people of the region homeless as only limited land will be acquired with fair compensation, it has maintained. Narayan Patil, president of the Vadhavan Port Virodhi Kruti Samiti (Anti-Vadhavan Port Action Committee), said the local people are completely against this port. More than 15 organisations are part of the action committee. He said the government was indifferent to the concerns expressed by the locals and accused the authorities of pushing the project despite opposition.

Amid reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the port by this month-end, the protesters warned the government not to go ahead with the programme, failing which the protests will be stepped up. Heavy police deployment was put in place at the protest site, officials said. The traffic was affected for several hours as the protesters began gathering at the protest site from 10 am. The protest began at noon and ended by 2.30 pm, following which the movement of traffic was restored, a police official said.

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