Hundreds of fishermen in Keni village, Ankola taluk are protesting against the geo-technical survey, which is taking place, for the construction of a Greenfiled port by JSW Steel, at Keni-Bhavikeri village, on Monday. Deputy commissioner of Uttara Kannada Lakshmipriya K had imposed prohibitory order in Keni village, from 6am Monday to 6am Tuesday. Despite the ban order, hundreds of fishermen gathered at the construction site, and demanded that the survey work should not proceed. Fishermen are protesting the district administration’s approval to the survey.
JSW has been contracted to build a Greenfield commercial port in Keni village, with a project cost of around Rs 4,119 crore. However, locals fear that the port will hinder fishing activities in the area, leading to displacement.
The situation got tense after BJP MLC Ganapati Ulvekar threatened to die by suicide by jumping into the Arabian Sea if the survey is not halted. Police have been deployed as the situation in Keni village has gotten tense. Despite the prohibition order, villagers were determined to protest. Police are patrolling the area to prevent disruption to the survey work.
Three protesting fisherwomen got severely sick due to heat, and were admitted to a government hospital. Three other fisherwomen jumped into the sea and were rescued by police.
The fishermen said they would continue the protest until the survey work is stopped, and threatened to collectively jump into the sea if the port project is not abandoned.
A meeting will soon be held between JSW officials, district administration, fishermen and local represntatives to resolve the issue, sources said.
