Congress workers block Union Minister George Kurian during visit to Muthalapozhi harbour

Thiruvananthapuram: A group of Congress workers on Thursday blocked Union Minister George Kurian during his visit to Muthalapozhi near here to study the issue of rising deaths of fishermen in the harbour channel.

The minister of state for minority affairs, fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairying, Kurian, was at Muthalapozhi, which has witnessed a series of boat mishaps in recent years resulting in the deaths of many fishermen. Kurian reached the executive engineer's office at the harbour to review the situation. The protesters called the construction of the channel there as "unscientific", which has resulted in numerous deaths. The Congress workers staged the protest, claiming that they were not intimated about the meeting.

They blocked the gate of the office by squatting on the road and raising slogans against the minister. "The minister said he would react after studying the matter. We don't want such a minister who is not taking any action against the lives lost," the agitators were seen shouting. Muthalapozhi at Perumathura is a place where the Vamanapuram river and Kadinamkulam lake meet the Arabian Sea. As the protesters refused to budge, the police used force to remove them from the road and make way for the minister.