India’s first deep-water container trans-shipment port, Vizhinjam International Seaport, located on the Vizhinjam coast in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, began operations in July this year with a trial run involving its first mother ship from China. The port has been contentious, particularly with local fisherfolk, due to the safety concerns linked to the nearby Muthalapozhy fishery harbour, which has seen over 70 fishermen lose their lives in the past decade.

Developed by Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) using a landlord model and a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach, the port operates on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) basis. It is jointly funded jointly by the Adani Ports Private Limited and the central and state governments.

Muthalapozhy is a natural mudbank on the northern shore of Thiruvananthapuram, situated between the villages of Perumathura and Thazhampally. This mudbank connects two lakes, Anchutheng and Kadinamkulam, to the Arabian Sea.

The Muthalapozhy fishery harbour — located at a coastal inlet where the Vamanapuram River meets the Arabian Sea — is 39 km from Vizhinjam. The river mouth is accessible only during the monsoon season from June to November and tends to silt up during summer, causing closures in February or March. The Harbour Engineering Department began the construction of the estuarine fishing harbour in 2002 (commissioned in 2020) to address the siltation issues that had made fishing operations challenging for local vessels.

A murky past

During the monsoon season, when the sea becomes rough, fishers have had to relocate their operations to other areas such as Vizhinjam and Neendakara in Kollam, abandoning the rich fishing grounds near Muthalapozhy. Fisherman Antony Devadas from Anchutheng panchayat notes that this rough sea has led to the loss of lives, as well as damage to boats and equipment. In response, the National Fisherworkers’ Forum (NFF) advocated for converting the Muthalapozhy estuary into a wharf and organised protests. However, according to Devadas, the government opted to build breakwaters instead.

A 2020 study by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP), a progressive science movement, highlights that fishers in the region employed both traditional methods, such as shore seine, and mechanised fishing using motorised boats. Fishers from villages such as Anchutheng and Mampally, who relied on motorised plywood boats, catamarans, and silk nets, were particularly affected during the monsoon. As a result, they were often forced to relocate their operations to Thangassery fishing harbour in the neighbouring Kollam district.

Between 1980 and 1990, there was a growing demand for a safer fishing system, primarily from a prominent fisherworkers’ organisation, Kerala Swathanthra Mathsyathozhilali Federation (KSMTF). They demanded a facility for traditional fishing methods similar to the one in Thangassery and concerns were raised about potential coastal erosion if breakwaters were constructed, as it was observed at the Neendakara fishing harbour in Kollam. Despite these concerns, the government proceeded with the construction of a fishing harbour modelled after Neendakara, including two jetties for anchoring boats inside the lake. The KSSP study notes: “No scientific study was conducted to assess the feasibility of permanently altering the estuary. Approval for the port was granted in 2000, and construction began in 2002.”

Rising fisher deaths

In August this year, 49-year-old fisherman Benedict from Anchuthengu panchayat died when his boat capsized off the harbour. Two months earlier, 50-year-old Victor also died under similar circumstances. Four additional deaths were reported in the months leading up to these incidents.

Sand accumulation underwater makes the area near the harbour prone to accidents. Deposits from the Arabian Sea and Vamanapuram Lake create underwater hillocks. Sea waves surge in from the west while lake currents push from the east, creating high, unstable waves when they collide with the sand. Boats caught in this turbulence often lose control and crash into rocks or tetrapods — concrete structures designed to prevent erosion.

The Kerala government has repeatedly come under the scanner for the security risk the harbour poses for the fishers. The government, however, is pointing fingers at the Adani Ports’ failure to maintain the required five-metre depth at the harbour mouth, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited and the government’s Harbour Engineering Department. The MoU, which is not publicly available, was initially signed in April 2018 for three years and amended in April 2021 for an additional three years. To address the issue and ensure effective dredging, the Harbour Engineering Department is now considering taking over the dredging activities from Adani Ports.

Ineffective dredging

The Adani Group constructed a barge loadout facility and a stockyard at Muthalapozhy fishing harbour to transport rocks for the port project. According to A.J. Vijayan, an ocean scientist and coastal environmental activist based in Thiruvananthapuram, conditions worsened after these developments. “They made structural changes to the southern breakwater for the barge loadout facility, which intensified the water currents in the channel. Small fishing crafts often get caught in these currents, leading to capsizing or collisions with the breakwater rocks,” Vijayan explains.

The contract between the Adani Group and the government permits the use of the fishery harbour for non-fishing purposes, provided that regular dredging is carried out to maintain the five-metre depth in the navigation channel until April 2024. “The Adani Group needed the harbour for their barges but ceased dredging when it was no longer required,” notes Vijayan, who is also the founder-secretary of the National Fishworkers’ Forum.

In response to the allegations, the Adani Group issued a note in 2023 stating that dredging was disrupted when the southern breakwater at Muthalapozhy, maintained by the Harbour Engineering Department, was damaged during Cyclone Tauktae in 2021. The company attributes the issue to the department’s failure to maintain the breakwater.

However, Vijayan counters that the Adani Group’s dredging efforts merely shifted sand from one location to another, worsening the sand accumulation problem. “Although dredging is a temporary fix, regular dredging by Adani, as stipulated in the contract, could have prevented these accidents,” he argues.

Flawed port design

Dr. K.V. Thomas, a retired scientist specialising in coastal oceanography at the Centre for Earth Science Studies, highlights that the port’s design was inherently unsuitable for its location. He explains, “Harbours are engineered to minimise sedimentation at their entrances. To achieve this, two breakwaters were constructed to protect the harbour from wave action. Ideally, during construction, the goal should be to maintain a wave tranquility, where wave heights are less than 0.3 metres within the harbour and at its entrance.”

Thomas points out that the design should have been aimed at preventing sediment buildup at the inlet. “Sand deposits are typically managed through occasional or maintenance dredging. However, maintenance dredging becomes ineffective if the sand accumulation surpasses a certain threshold. In the case of Muthalapozhy, sediment levels are unusually high, to the point of obstructing the inlet barrier filter. This sand buildup decreases the water depth near the entrance, causing waves to break at the inlet and impeding their movement. The harbour’s design failed to address this issue. The core design was flawed,” he asserts.

While Thomas maintains that the government conducted a scientific study before constructing the harbour, the inaccuracies in the study data contributed to the problem. “The harbour was redesigned once or twice afterward, but the fundamental design remained unchanged,” he adds.

Vijayan notes that to tackle the issue of siltation — the primary cause of accidents — and improve safety at the harbour, the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) in Pune, in a 2011 study, recommended implementing regular sand bypassing from south to north and extending the two breakwaters. Sand bypassing involves the artificial transport of sand across tidal entrances to prevent erosion and maintain navigation channels.

Vijayan argues that the government should have prioritised sand bypassing before extending the breakwaters. “If implemented successfully, sand bypassing could not only prevent siltation in the channel but also help restore lost beaches on the northern side, potentially saving substantial costs associated with constructing seawalls for coastal protection,” he says.

Demand for better design

In response to a Right to Information (RTI) query from the Kerala Swathanthra Mathsyathozhilali Federation, the Harbour Engineering Department confirmed that sand bypassing had not been implemented at the harbour. The department’s response also noted that a revised project outline, incorporating recommendations from the CWPRS study and suggestions from the Centre, is currently under review by the Kerala government.

Vijayan advocates for a change in central government policy regarding mega projects that lack scientific backing. “If such projects are approved, the Centre should also fund their maintenance, including a 60-40 ratio for sand bypassing, to ensure existing harbours remain viable,” he says.

The recurring accidents have caused significant distress among the local fisherfolk. “Fishermen face many hardships while going to sea, but they have no choice as they must support their families,” says fish vendor Mable Abraham, who lost her husband, 60-year-old Abraham Robert, when his boat capsized at Muthalapozhy in May this year.

“We are now terrified when our men go fishing. We cannot accept relocation; we would struggle to adapt to a new environment. If the breakwaters had been extended, these accidents might have been prevented. We are not opposed to any project, but we just want to live in safety,” says Robert’s daughter, Sherly Ruben.

Banner image: Fishers at Muthalapozhy fishing harbour near Vizhinjam International Seaport. The harbour has seen 70 deaths in the last decade, raising security concerns. Image by Saritha S. Balan for Mongabay.

Credits

Arathimenon Editor

Topics

FishFishingKerala

See Topics