Pinarayi Vijayan to raise Colachel port issue with Modi

Thiruvananthapuram, July 15 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will raise the issue of sanctioning Colachel port in Tamil Nadu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Inter-State Council meeting on Saturday.

The Chief Minister and his Kerala Ports Minister Kadanapally Ramachandran left for Delhi on Friday to attend the Inter-State Council meeting that has been convened after a gap of 10 years.

Speaking at the Kerala Assembly on Friday, the Chief Minister said the Centre's decision to give clearance for the Colachel port was not justified.

"This is in not acceptable to Kerala and we would tell this to the Prime Minister," Vijayan said.

In Delhi, Vijayan would also meet MPs from Kerala and the issue of Colachel port would be discussed, sources told IANS.

The Vijayan government is opposed to the building of Colachel port which is barely 25 km from the Vizhinjam port in Kerala. The Vizhinjam port is being constructed by the Adani group.

The Colachel port project was pending for the last 17 years. The central government gave the go ahead to the project earlier this month.