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Why was this story taken down from Hindustan Times ?

Joint Rally by Adivasi Haq Samvardhan Samiti and Shramik Mukti Sangha on the occasion of Indigenous Communities Day . 500+ Adivasis from Aarey joined the rally today to celebrate the day and the forest with dance and singing. #SaveAareyForest

Yesterday PM Modi laid the foundation stone for India’s largest deep water port: the Vadhavan Port Project, but the ceremony was not held in Vadhavan, where the port is actually proposed. It was held in Palghar, around 30 km away from Vadhavan. Why you may ask? Stay with me 🧵

Yesterday Local Fishermen, Adivasi Communities and Farmers led massive demonstrations against the proposed project which is poised to destroy their livelihoods and destroy sensitive ecology of the area. Fishermen were leading the protest with a boat rally in the sea

Women were at the forefront of this demonstration. They waived blag flags, ask PM Modi to cancel the ceremony and consider their demands to protect Vadhavan coastal area and local ecology.

The area is home to around 5-6 Thousand fishermen families. Women are employed in the fishing related jobs. The coastal area has around 3 thousand boats. These areas are thriving because of vibrant fishing communities and farmers.

Anticipating the massive demonstration across Vadhavan, the government decided to absurdly carry out the foundation ceremony in Palghar. While the Vadhavan area was reverberating with the chants of ‘Modi Go Back!’ And ‘ एकच जिद्द वाढवण बंदर रद्द’, the government hastily carried

Out the ceremony. The protest is not just for livelihoods, the protest is also for the rights of indigenous Koli and Adivasi community of the area to access the sea. The project will also pose threat to local ecology and environment.

People have also sensed the danger of Climate change and extreme climate events arising out of it. The western coast of India has seen unusual numbers of cyclones in recent years. The rainfall pattern has changed as well. The coastal communities end up bearing the brunt of it.

Protestors are massively disappointed in the opposition. Few protestors I spoke to, told me that none of the mainstream opposition parties showed up yesterday, despite the political nature of the foundation ceremony in light of upcoming state elections.

The locals and their respective fishing and farmers organisations arranged these massive demonstrations against all odds and under massive pressure.

Mainstream media’s role has to be questioned here as well. There was no proper coverage of the protest on the television news channels. Every news channel was just propagating the same state narrative of employment and revenue, without mentioning the demands of the locals.

Local newspapers were an exception with reports like these in Marathi.

While the mainstream media gave all day coverage to PM Modi’s speech where he apologised for the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj’s Statue in Malvan, it had no mention of the massive protests just a few kilometers away.

Whether this ceremony was an election gimmick or not, only time will tell, but people of Vadhavan are in for a long term fight for their land and sea.

I was physically assaulted by a drunk 25 year old merchant navy man in Thane while my wife was verbally abused. I demand Thane City Police -ठाणे शहर पोलीस to file an FIR. We cannot settle for only an NC, we demand justice. mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-…