CPI (M)-led Protest Reaches Palghar: Sit-in Launched Over Vadhavan Port Project

A protest march involving thousands of people opposing the proposed Vadhavan Port Project and several other infrastructure projects reached the Palghar district collector’s office on Tuesday evening after covering nearly 50 kilometres on foot, as reported by PTI.

Led by leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the protesters began an indefinite sit-in demonstration at the collectorate upon arrival. The march had commenced on Monday from Charoti village in Dahanu taluka.

Speaking to PTI, senior CPI (M) leader Ashok Dhawale said that the protesters would continue their sit-in through the night, while a delegation would hold talks with the district collector on Wednesday morning to present their demands. Officials confirmed that extensive police arrangements were in place along the route of the march to ensure law and order.

The demonstrators are demanding that all temple, inaam, and government land be vested in the names of actual cultivators. They have also called for the restoration and strengthening of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the cancellation of the smart meter scheme, the repeal of the four Labour Codes, and the scrapping of the proposed Vadhavan and Murbe port projects.

Several prominent CPI (M) leaders took part in the march, including Polit Bureau member and All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) national general secretary Vijoo Krishnan, CPI (M) MLA Vinod Nikole, Ashok Dhawale, and others. Various Left-wing organisations also joined the protest.

Police officials said the situation remained peaceful throughout, with traffic diversions imposed at sensitive locations to facilitate the smooth movement of the protesters, the news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a major traffic jam occurred on Monday along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad NH-48 highway due to a protest against the Vadhavan Port and “other destructive mega projects being imposed on the district”, including on forest and land across Palghar and Dahanu. The large crowd comprising Communist party members dressed in black marched from Tarapur to Palghar, where local fishermen, the Adivasi community, and labourers joined them in protesting outside the Collector’s Office.

To maintain law and order, police personnel have been deployed at Hutatma Chowk in Palghar, at railway stations from Palghar to Dahanu, Old Palghar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk, and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Chowk. All schools along the route of the protest march have been given a holiday. On Monday, local schools were shut at 10 am.

The Palghar traffic police issued an advisory regarding heavy traffic along NH-48 from 8 am to 10 pm on Monday, and 6 am to 2 pm today. Heavy vehicles have been barred, and they will be stopped from entering at Acchad Naka and Amboli.