The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has turned the arrival of the first project cargo vessel at the Vizhinjam International Seaport into an occasion for celebration with CPI(M) leaders including State secretary M.V. Govindan and V. Joy, MLA, leading a procession culminating in a public event at Vizhinjam ahead of the formal inauguration on Sunday.
However, Father Eugene Pereira, Vicar General of the Thiruvananthapuram Archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Latin rite), has struck a discordant note, accusing the government of misleading the people by celebrating the arrival of cranes required for the port as the arrival of the first ship, when only 60% of the port’s work has been completed till now.
He made his displeasure clear at the government for including the name of the archbishop in the official programme notice without the Church’s permission, even though he said no one was banned from taking part in Sunday’s inaugural event. The Vizhinjam parish, under the Latin Church, had taken an independent position, saying that it would participate in the event, following talks with Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian on Saturday.
