In the wake of the clashes that took place in Vizhinjam on Saturday and Sunday over the construction of the Vizhinjam port, a special police team has been formed with Thiruvananthapuram range  DIG R Nishanthini as the special officer to deal with the situation here.
DIG Nishanthini will directly be monitoring security arrangements and law and order situation in in Thiruvananthapuram city along with the Thiruvananthapuram rural and Kollam districts.
DCP Ajith Kumar and crime branch SP Madhusoodanan have also been inducted into the team. Others in the team include city district crime branch ACP B Anil Kumar, Thiruvananthapuram city crime records bureau ACP J K Dinil, V T Rasith from the Thiruvananthapuram rural narcotics and Kazhakootam ACP C S Hari.
Police have registered cases against 3,000 people for vandalising the Vizhinjam police station  and attacking policemen on duty where 30 policemen sustained injury.
The  protesters  under the Vizhinjam agitation committee thronged in front of the Vizhinjam police station demanding the release of people from the police custody.
The police have charged several church leaders of the Latin Archdiocese Thiruvananthapuram in connection with the clashes on Saturday between the Latin Catholic church-led Vizhinjam agitation committee, who are against the construction of Vizhinjam port by Adani group, and the People Collective of Mulloor, who are in favour of the port project.
The clash erupted on Saturday after the Adani Group attempted to resume construction work by bringing materials, including granite, to the port site in trucks. Soon, Mulloor residents reached the site and they had a heated argument with the protesters. It later snowballed into a scuffle, where the agitators stated pelting stones at local residents even after the police and a few priests tried to pacify them.
Meanwhile, state  fisheries minister V Abdurahiman said the government would not backtrack from the Vizhinjam port  project. “We have tried our level best to negotiate with the protestors. There is a limit to it. No one who loves the country could object to the port,” he said while speaking here at the expert summit on Vizhinjam port.
Speaking on the occasion, state ports minister Ahamed Devakovil said the first ship would dock at the port during Onam next. “The port is owned by the government and not Adani. The construction activities are carried out with minimal ecological damage and the coastal erosion is not due to the port,” said the minister.

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