Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hindu group to march for Adani port project in India amid Christian protests

Construction work at the project in Vizhinjam, in Kerala state, has been halted for almost four months by protesters from the fishing community, led by Catholic priests, blocking the site’s entrance with a makeshift shelter.

Hindu group to march for Adani port project in India amid Christian protests

A Hindu group close to India's ruling party will on Wednesday march in support of a $900 million port project by the Adani Group which has been stalled by Christian protesters, as tensions rise after clashes in which 80 people were injured.

Construction work at the project in Vizhinjam, in Kerala state, has been halted for almost four months by protesters from the fishing community, led by Catholic priests, blocking the site's entrance with a makeshift shelter.


They blame the port's development for coastal erosion that has hit their livelihoods, an accusation billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate denies.

Supporters of the port, including members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party and Hindu groups, have set up their own shelters, as the two sides face off across the street. They say the port will create jobs in the region.

The port is of strategic importance to both India and Adani, Asia's wealthiest man and the world's third-richest. Once completed, it will become India's first container transhipment hub, rivalling Dubai, Singapore and Sri Lanka for business on the lucrative east-west trade routes.

The march by the Hindu United Front on Wednesday will have more than 1,000 people calling for construction to resume, the group's convener K P Sasikala told Reuters.

Kerala state police have already sent reinforcements to the Vizhinjam area after villagers stormed a police station late Sunday in clashes that left 80 people injured, including 36 police.

A senior police official outside the port confirmed he was aware of the march plans of the Hindu United Front, adding they remain on high alert to prevent any possible clashes between protesters and supporters at the port entrance.

The protests have continued despite repeated orders by Kerala state's top court to allow construction to restart.

However, police have for weeks largely been unwilling to take action, fearful that doing so will set off social and religious tensions, Reuters has previously reported.

The first phase of construction was due to be completed by end-2024. The Adani Group has said in court filings that the protests have caused "immense loss" and "considerable delay".

The villagers have refused to budge, saying they will only remove their shelter - a 1,200 square feet structure consisting of poles holding up a corrugated iron roof - once the project's construction is called off.

"The protests will continue," one of the protest leaders, Joy Jerald, told Reuters near the shelter on Tuesday.

The Adani Group says the port complies with all laws and has cited studies that show it is not linked to shoreline erosion. The state government also says any erosion was due to natural causes.

Adani has previously faced protests in Australia, where environmental activists had launched a "Stop Adani" movement to protest his Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland state. There, activists concerned about carbon emissions and damage to the Great Barrier Reef forced Adani to downsize production targets and delayed the first shipment from the mine by years.

(Reuters)

More For You

Harshita Brella: High court blasts Delhi police inaction
Brella's body was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on 14 November. (Photo: Northamptonshire Police)

Harshita Brella: High court blasts Delhi police inaction

INDIAN authorities are under intense scrutiny after the Delhi high court criticised police efforts to locate Pankaj Lamba, the prime suspect in the murder of his wife Harshita Brella. The ongoing international manhunt has revealed a series of investigative failures, with the court describing the Delhi Police's approach as "utterly incompetent".

Brella was found dead in the boot of a car in Ilford, East London, in November 2024. Her husband was charged in absentia with murder, two counts of rape, sexual assault, and controlling behaviour shortly after her death.

Keep ReadingShow less
Streeting: Health deal signals new era in UK-India ties

Foreign Office minister Catherine West, health secretary Wes Streeting and equalities minister Seema Malhotra during the Holi Reception in London.

Streeting: Health deal signals new era in UK-India ties

THE recent health and life sciences agreement between the UK and India will strengthen cooperation on healthcare innovation and security in both countries, health secretary Wes Streeting said.

Speaking at the Holi reception organised by the 1928 Institute, who are the secretariat for the India All-Party Parliamentary Group, in London on Monday (24), he added that the contribution of British Indians has been pivotal in the growth of the NHS since its inception in 1948, and a robust partnership between the two nations will ensure we have a healthcare provider 'fit for the future'.

Keep ReadingShow less
british-steel-iStock

An aerial view of Steel Plant Industry in Scunthorpe. (Photo: iStock)

British Steel to shut blast furnaces, up to 2,700 jobs at risk

BRITISH STEEL, owned by Chinese group Jingye, confirmed on Thursday that it will shut down its blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in England, attributing the decision to market challenges, tariffs, and rising environmental costs.

The closures, first proposed in late 2023, could lead to the loss of up to 2,700 jobs at the company’s main UK site in Scunthorpe, northern England, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Keep ReadingShow less
Just Stop Oil

Just Stop Oil has garnered significant media attention with its direct action protests

Getty Images

Just Stop Oil ends direct action campaign after major policy success

The environmental activist group Just Stop Oil has announced an end to its disruptive direct action protests, declaring a significant victory in its campaign to halt new oil and gas developments. In a statement released by the organisation, the group confirmed it had successfully influenced government policy to abandon new fossil fuel exploration, marking a major turning point in the movement’s goals.

“Just Stop Oil's initial demand to end new oil and gas is now government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history,” the group’s statement read. It went on to claim responsibility for having kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground, while legal victories in the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful.

Keep ReadingShow less
submarine-crash-reuters

People walk next to an ambulance in front of the hospital where the bodies of foreigners who were killed when a tourist submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, and whose nationalities are still unknown, are kept. (Photo: Reuters)

Six foreign tourists die after submarine sinks off Egypt’s Red Sea coast

SIX tourists died on Thursday when a submarine carrying visitors sank near Hurghada, a resort city on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, state media reported.

According to the state-owned Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper, all the deceased were foreigners. The report also said 19 others were injured in the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less