New Delhi: A dharna was conducted before the Government Secretariat in  Trivandrumthe Capital of Kerala to support the agitations which is going on at the Jandher Mandhir in New Delhi by the National Alliance of Peoples Movements(NAPM) against the Special Economic Zones by the Kerala Independent Fish Workers Federation (KSMTF). The Dharna was inaugurated by Mr. T Peter the State President of KSMTF. In his inaugural address he said the move fromthe government to include most of the sea areas in the Special EconomicZone should be prevented. He continued that the costal community should come together to prevent losing the seashore from the fishing community. The fishermen should get motivated by the incidents which happened in the Nanthygram and should plan, formulate and implement the striking action.We should come together to make a strong movement to prevent note to happened here what has happened in the Nanthygram. He also demanded to the Central Government to ensure the security of the Indian fishermen from the Sri Lankan army. Lots of fishermen where killed by shoot death by the Sri Lankan army. A Andrews, Anto Elias, T P Muhamed Koya, P S Kishore, Saouda Assiz, S James, S Joseph, Valerian Isaac has also delivered their speech and demanded the central and state government to protect the rights of thefishing community.

TSEZs are permitted to have non-polluting industries in the Coastal Regulation Zone area. By allowing SEZs in the CRZ area the Government is violating the CRZ notification(1991) that aims to control the indiscriminate exploitation of the coastal area and therefore bars industrial activity within 500 meters from the sea line. The Notification permits human habitation within the 500 meter zone, with specific conditions in the various CRZ areas. With the SEZ Act, the right of coastal communities to beach space and their access to has come under attack.

This kind of acquisition of land is necessarily creating conditions for forced  migration of communities and working people. On the one hand communities are being displaced from their traditional livelihoods and on the other, these industrial zones are not creating enough employment to absorb the entire community they are displacing . Consequently, migration becomes the only option for survival.