HONNAVAR (UTTARA KANNADA): Rajesh Tandel stares impassively as the ocean breeze shifts the sand, spraying it in opposition to the fragments of fishing nets strung up on poles on the seashore past his dwelling at Kasarkoda, a village in Honnavar taluka of coastal Karnataka.

Within every web are tons of of eggs laid by the reclusive Olive Ridley turtles over the previous few weeks, however with the nesting nearing its finish and the hatchlings but to emerge from the 49 protected nests that also stay, Tandel has begun to fret for them.

Tandel, now in his mid-30s, grew up watching the waves crash upon the shore because the tides ebbed and flowed, ran out to sea with the ramponn (fishing web) at a second’s discover each time he or a member of his fishing group observed a shoal of sardines near the shore, and season after season the Olive Ridleys laid eggs and the hatchlings went out to sea.

“I have seen days even in the recent past when the entire beach would be filled with sardines in the shallow water and we could literally pick them up by the basket,” Tandel says. He and his group of kharvis (fishermen) who grew up studying and understanding the ocean had been formally named as group co-protectors of the forest division’s turtle conservation programme when it was launched greater than 30 years in the past.

All that’s in danger now, as giant heaps of purple laterite boulders, mud and gravel rapidly dumped atop the pale sands stand testimony to what was a ham-handed try to drive by way of a 4km highway proper atop the seashore to realize entry to the location of a brand new proposed port on the mouth of the Sharavati river.

Today the sandy seashore that’s dwelling to eight vaddos (hamlets) of fishers lies buried underneath bounders, rocks and gravel when in January 2022 tons of of vehicles started dumping rubble, mud and gravel as a part of a undertaking to construct a four-lane, devoted highway hall from the nationwide freeway to what’s a proposed Honnavar Private Port Limit (HPPL). Villagers who protested had been arrested and launched solely after the work was full.

“There are 49 turtle nesting sites on this beach. HPPL built the road without any permissions — no permission from the CRZ (coastal regulation zone), or any other authority, resulting in failed nests. Many nests were buried under the mud and rubble they have dumped under the road. The forest department has been keeping quiet,” mentioned Prakash Mesta, a marine biologist and resident of Honnavar.

Thankfully for the villagers, their petitions to the National Green Tribunal resulted in a keep on the work, offering reduction for now.

Coastal improvement

Kasarkoda’s story shouldn’t be distinctive. The coast of the Uttara Kannada district — from Karwar within the north to Bhatkal within the south — has seen large fishermen led protests in opposition to the state’s coastal plans. As per plans drawn up by the Karnataka Maritime Board that was arrange in 2015, there are seven minor ports which can be at varied levels of planning, an even bigger port at Karwar in addition to new minor ports at Belekeri, Tadri, Pavinakuruva, Honnavar and Manki.

A railway line between Hubballi and Ankolaa coastal city south of Karwar — additionally stalled due to environmental issues — is being deliberate to assist enhance the connectivity of the upcoming ports and the inside of the state and past. The line, too, has not been given permission since it would contain reducing by way of the biodiverse Western Ghats.

Honnavar, a city on the banks of the Sharavati, is a historic port that after was a thriving hub for merchants in the course of the peak of the spice commerce from the Arabs, to the Portuguese, the Dutch and later the British. Privateer Timoja Nayak, who induced the Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque to assault and conquer the port metropolis of Goa, hailed from Honnavar, the place ruins of the fort he operated from stay.

“Over the years, despite attempts from the Portuguese and British and later even a Japanese company, Honnavar has never been a successful port because this has been a highly eroding area. Everyone who set up here had to walk away with losses,” Mesta mentioned”. The coast and sand strikes by the hour and no navigator can inform the place the sandbanks lie.”

It ought to come as no shock then that the maritime board’s plans haven’t been easy. Owing to protest and litigation, and even poor response to the expressions of curiosity to appeals for personal funding for a number of the ports have ensured that many tasks are caught at varied levels of completion.

At Honnavar, the place as many as three ports are proposed — Pavina Kurva, Honnavar and Manki — aggrieved fishermen approached the Karnataka excessive courtroom, which granted a keep. The fishermen additionally approached the National Green Tribunal, which has ordered to cease the work on the highway being constructed atop turtle nesting websites. The highway and port undertaking has now grow to be a bone of rivalry between the numerically and politically robust fishing group.

At Karwar, appeals by fishermen first earlier than the courtroom and tribunal have ensured that the growth plan, which wanted forest clearance, is stayed.

Local protests

“In 2019, they started work on the expansion of the Karwar port, without CRZ clearance, without consent of the pollution board. About 10,000 to 15,000 people held a protest that blocked the bridges. But they continued with the work despite our protests,” mentioned Vikas Tandel, a fisherman and activist. “We went to the high court with a PIL (public interest litigation) and got a stay in January 2020. The work was stopped and remained stopped during the Covid period.”

Uttara Kannada is an environmentally wealthy district that covers a large geographical space bordering Belgavi within the north, Dharwad and Haveri and Shimoga within the east and Udupi within the South. It is the place the waves of the Arabian Sea crash in opposition to the outer reaches of the Western Ghats, providing a wealthy and various spectrum of plant and animal life. Though geographically broad, the district is dwelling to solely six meeting constituencies — Haliyal, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Sirsi and Yellapur.

In 2018, the dying of Paresh Mesta, a youth from the fishing group of Honnavar taluka that was initially mentioned to be a communal homicide, vitiated the ambiance within the taluka. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which took over the case, after 4 years of probe mentioned it was an unintentional dying.

The challenge helped the Bharatiya Janat Party win 4 out of the six constituencies within the district, three of which — Karwar, Kumta and Bhatkal (Honnavar is cut up between Kumta and Bhatkal) — had been coastal constituencies.

“Because of the death of Paresh Mesta, the BJP got a huge majority. In the end, the CBI, too, contended that it was an accidental death and that no one was involved. Ananthkumar Hegde (BJP MP from Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat) used to win on the strength of the fishermen’s votes. But now they have blamed us and labelled us anti-nationals because we are opposing the port projects,” mentioned Vikas Tandel, a fisherman activist.

“The fishermen were the backbone of the BJP. But because of the port, people have reversed their choice. Just because of the ports, many have turned against the government,” he added.

The Bhatkal constituency comprising the fishing villages is presently represented by the BJP’s Sunil Naik, who narrowly received the seat by round 5,000 votes in opposition to Congress’s MS Vaidya, who was the MLA from 2013 to 2018. Vaidya who survived a crude bomb assassination try 2018 is as soon as once more up in opposition to Naik.

In Karwar constituency, BJP candidate Roopali Naik is looking for a second time period whereas Satish Sail, who got here third in 2018 behind the BJP and JD(S) candidates is taking a second shot at wresting the as soon as Congress constituency from the BJP.

BJP district president Venkatesh Naik, nonetheless, performed down the impression of the protests and labelled them politically motivated.

“The protests are politically motivated. The foundation stone was laid during the Congress regime. But now, when we came to power and started the work, only then they began protesting. I do not see any impact of the protests on the fate of our candidates,” Naik instructed HT.

“The Congress is confident of winning the seat after five years of misrule from the BJP, whose local MLA has shown herself to be arrogant and uncaring towards her constituents,” mentioned a Congress chief, requesting anonymity. “This despite some confusion regarding the handing out of the ticket, we are confident that the people will rally behind our candidate in order to defeat the BJP.”

The fishermen worry the ports will break their livelihood.

At Karwar, dwelling to the Seabird naval base, Uday Tandel, a conventional fisherman, says elevated industrialisation of the coast brings with it a worry that the expanded port and extra breakwater will speed up the erosion of what’s now a critically susceptible coastal space (CVCA). “Once the port is given approval they will ask us to move out and shift the fishing jetty elsewhere, to a place that is a few kilometres away and is not a natural harbour leaving our boats at risk,” Tandel says.

At Honnavar, fishermen allege that the normal fishing floor and fish drying lands have been illegally usurped for a port that’s being constructed — stupidly they are saying — on a stretch of land that’s right here right this moment gone tomorrow, owing to the shifting sands and altering currents.

“These are among the richest fishing waters in the country. Here you can get fish by the truckload and very close to the shore. It offers jobs to thousands of people. How many jobs will the port offer?” asks Rajesh Tandel.

For Vikas Tandel, theirs shouldn’t be an environmental battle alone, however one that can search to determine the political bargaining energy of the fisher communities.

“It is important for us to defeat the BJP. If there is a non-BJP government, it gives us a chance to fight against the projects. The present regime has challenged us that they will complete the projects no matter the opposition. If we do not win then they will be under the impression that no matter the opposition, they can go forward with the projects,” he mentioned.

Political analysts say the fishermen’s protests will impression voting traits, however the impression could also be restricted. “At one point, it seemed like the BJP was on the back foot. But prior to the elections, there was a lot of people moving parties, including some who opposed the ports joining the BJP. In Honnavar, where the bigger protests were held, there will definitely be an impact, but in Karwar the votes will be split,” an area journalist mentioned, declining to be named.

In Karwar, the fishermen declare a voting determine of 40,000 out of a 2 lakh inhabitants and have accused the BJP of supporting them, after they had been within the opposition however of getting turned pro-development quickly as they got here to energy.

“When they were in the opposition, he (BJP Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada Anantkumar Hegde) was supporting our cause. But when he joined the government, he became ‘pro-development’. We reminded them that we were opposing the port project, including when the Congress was in power and even now,” Vikas Tandel mentioned.