The Joint Action Committee of Kasarkod Fishermen Associations at Honnavar has given a call to fishermen to boycott the Lok Sabha elections in Uttara Kannada on May 7, accusing the Union government and the Karnataka government of not taking action against a special purpose vehicle (SPV) developing the Honnavar port for allegedly violating coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) norms.
Committee president Rajesh Govind Tandel said the Department of Infrastructure Development, Ports and Inland Water Transport in 2010 allotted the port land on contract to two companies for 30 years for development, operation, and maintenance. Honnavar Port Pvt. Ltd., an SPV, was formed for the purpose.
In over 13 years, Mr. Tandel alleged, the project has not been completed and all the permission that had been taken stand expired. The SPV has failed to renew the permission and work is being done by violating the CRZ norms, he alleged. The works of developing a road connecting the port with the National Highway 66 (Kawar–Mangaluru) will harm the ecology. There are fears that the project will threaten the breeding of eco-sensitive Olive Ridley turtles on the Kasarkod beach. Fishermen have expressed their fears over the port project coming in the way of dry fish business, he said.
