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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the work on the Vizhinjam seaport project by the Adani Group cannot be stopped. He added that the law and order in the state is being handled by the government properly.
When they told the court that they needed security for the port, the government did not oppose it, but fake propaganda was being spread that central forces are coming to handle law and order, said Vijayan.
The chief minister claimed that the incident in which demonstrators overran the Vizhinjam Police Station did not occur unexpectedly. He claimed that 54 police officers were attacked and CCTV cameras in surrounding stores were smashed.
The state administration informed the Kerala High Court after the incident that all compensation for losses suffered during the protest would be sought from the demonstrators.
The Latin Catholic archbishop has been leading the demonstrators, who are mostly local people and fishermen, in their call for an end to the Vizhinjam project. The demonstrations began in August of this year.
The arrangement for the Adani Group's Vizhinjam international seaport project was finalised in 2015, however protests by fishermen in the state severely hampered construction efforts.