Muthalapozhi fishing harbour in danger as Vizhinjam port’s 1st phase nears completion

The Vizhinjam port, India’s first transshipment port project, began in 2016 and was promoted by the Kerala government in a public-private partnership with Adani Group. As the first phase nears completion, an estuary to its north at Muthalapozhi has raised concerns. In the last eight years, 73 people have died in Muthalapozhi. Locals call this area ‘Kerala’s mouth of death’.

The Muthalapozhi fishing harbour is located at the spot where the Vamanapuram river meets the Arabian Sea in the southern part of Kerala. This location is just 39 km from Vizhinjam. When large-scale fishing occurs in the early mornings and late evenings, engine-powered fishing boats returning from the sea often encounter accidents as they reach the harbour mouth. The fishing harbour has two breakwaters which are parallel to each other.

A ‘breakwater’ is a wall-like structure made of rocks and tetrapods laid perpendicular to the shore and deep into the sea to prevent erosion. Every monsoon, sea waves surge into the unscientifically constructed channel from the west, while an equally strong river water drift pushes back from the east.

The reason for this could be the accumulation of sand from the river and the sea beneath the water in the channel area. It creates underwater mounds, leading to waves colliding and rising with deadly force from both directions. The rocky edges of the breakwaters strike boats, causing them to crash and collapse.

As recently as July 8, there was a providential escape for 21 fishermen when their boat capsized after hitting the breakwaters, and they all fell into the sea.

The only way to ensure the safety of the channel is to remove the accumulated sand periodically. This responsibility now lies with Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), which is undertaking the Vizhijam port construction.

Adani was obliged to clear the accumulated sand as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with Kerala’s harbour engineering department in 2018. The agreement primarily granted Adani Ports permission to dismantle the northern portion of the southern breakwater of Muthalapozhi harbour to construct a loadout facility.

This facility was intended to store the rocks that the company transported in barges from various places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to construct the breakwater of the Vizhinjam Port.

In return, the government requested continuous dredging of the Muthalapozhi channel and maintaining its depth at 5 metres to ensure fishing boats do not scrape against sand or rock. Adani Ports also agreed to periodically maintain the harbour’s two breakwaters.

But Adani Ports has failed to uphold its end of the agreement over the past four years, and now claims it no longer needs the Muthalapozhi facility to transport stones as the construction of the breakwater in Vizhinjam is nearly complete.

Despite this, the MoU remains in effect, and the Kerala government is urging Adani to fulfil its commitment, considering the significant concessions and resources the state has provided for the construction of the massive transhipment terminal.

On its part, Adani has blamed Cyclone Tauktae and the Kerala government for the dredging work having not taken place in the last four years.

“You don’t have to dredge the channel. Sand bypassing prevents sand accumulation in the channel. This has to be done continuously,” A J Vijayan, a well-known ocean scientist, told DTE.