Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar cross swords over claims of solving problems of coastal communities

Incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor, who is gunning for a fourth victory on the trot from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency at the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, has contested claims made by his rival and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, over the measures adopted to ameliorate the woes of coastal communities in the district. Mr. Tharoor took to X to pick holes in a letter that was apparently used by Mr. Chandrasekhar to highlight the assistance that has been purportedly offered by the Centre’s Department of Fisheries to the State government to resolve issues related to harbour development projects in coastal areas. It stated the Ministry will provide necessary technical support to the State government through the Central Institute of Coastal Engineering of Fishery to finalise a comprehensive proposal for developing a fishing harbour/fish landing centre with need-based facilities, including groynes to provide safe landing, berthing facilities, and to protect the fishing villages of Paruthiyoor and Kollencode from sea erosion. The Ministry has also offered to provide financial support under Pradhan Mantri Matsay Sampada to develop fishing harbour/fish landing facilities, including groynes and shelter basins, to the fishing vessels operating in the region.