Thiruvananthapuram: The Vizhinjam Mother Port Action Council (V-MAC) has decided to contest the elections protesting against the alleged apathy of political parties towards the construction of Vizhinjam trans-shipment project.
V-MAC president Elias John will be its candidate from Thiruvanantha-puram constituency. Mr John told Deccan Chronicle that he had been receiving numerous queries about the lack of job prospects as promised by the government. He could not give any assurances on the job prospects as he had no power.
Adani has already made it clear that the port would handle little outward cargo. The government has also been unable to give any projection on the number of job opportunities it expected from the project, Mr John said.
There are also no steps to set up export-oriented industries in the areas near the project site. The Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) has projected only Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts as the catchment areas of the port. This was when the port could expect cargo business even from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Mr John said.
One of the reasons for the success of Dubai and Singapore ports was the industries in their vicinity which give value addition to various projects. The port authorities here and the government were not even able to envisage such industries providing value addition, Mr John said. “I have been taking efforts to get in touch with as many people as possible with a plea to vote for me to ensure that the project would materialise,” Mr John said.
