Honnavar locals petitions on marauding trucks threats in Kasarkod

To,

The Panchayat Development Officer

Kasarkod Gram Panchayat,

Honnavar

Subject: Regarding the severe danger caused to Tonka residents and fishermen due to the continuous heavy-vehicle movement belonging to Honnvara Port Private Limited through our residential area

Respected Sir/Madam,

We, the residents of Kasarkod–Tonka, bring to your notice that for the past several days, Honnavara Port Private Limited has been moving very large heavy vehicles (weighing 100–150 tons) through our narrow residential road. Because of this continuous movement, we are facing the following serious problems:

1. Our houses have developed cracks.

2. The safety of our children, women, elderly people and fishermen is at high risk.

3. Due to the vibration and shaking caused by these heavy vehicles, there is constant fear and disturbance day and night.

4. The dust pollution created by these vehicles is severely affecting the health of our children and elders.

5. Due to the traffic of these heavy vehicles, the community movement and daily activities of the villagers have been badly affected.

6. The heavy-vehicle movement has also caused significant damage to the existing village road.

Because of all these issues, our entire Tonka community is experiencing stress, fear and hardship. We are extremely unhappy with this situation. Despite repeated verbal requests, the company has not taken any remedial action.

Therefore, we hereby request you to immediately do the following on behalf of the Tonka community:

Our demands:

1. Immediately stop the movement of heavy vehicles through Tonka residential roads and direct the company to use an alternative route.

2. Inspect and assess the damage caused to our houses and ensure that the company pays adequate compensation for the damage.

3. Provide a written assurance that such dangerous vehicle movement will not be allowed again in the future through the residential area.

4. Take necessary legal action against the company for violating safety and environmental norms.

We request you to take urgent action to ensure the safety, peace and wellbeing of our community.

With respect,

Tonka Community Residents

Date: 12/12/2025

Place: Tonka – Kasarkod

Copies to:

1. Hon’ble Tahsildar, Honnavar

2. Honnavar Police Station

3. Fisheries Department, Honnavar

4. Forest Department, Honnavar

 

On the sands of Tonka

On the sands of Tonka waves of Arabian Sea kiss the shore...

On the sands of Tonka hundreds of fishers thrive to prosperity...

On the sands of Tonka Olive Ridley nests and hatchlings...

On the sands of Tonka lies fisheries livihood to people of Kasargod, Honnavar...

On the sands of Tonka plays out India's worst legal spectrum exemplified through Chennai NGT Judgement of 10 June 2025: Appeal No.07 of 2025 (SZ) & I.A. No.39 of 2025 (SZ) with Appeal No.15 of 2025 (SZ)...

On the sands of Tonka beauty behind measure sea birds fishing delight...

On the sands of Tonka eyes focused of predators...

On the sands of Tonka Sharavati and and Badangani rivers opens their mouth...

On the sands of Tonka fishers strive to defend the shore past dozen years from 2013...

On the sands of Tonka fishers battled against constructing road on the beach...

On the sands of Tonka fishers challenged heavy Port-State nexus to run over them alive... 

On the sands of Tonka railway tracks plans in offing yet claimed shelved for public pleasing...

On the sands of Tonka fishers houses are marked 'X' for erasing on 25 February 2025...

On the sands of Tonka Police on behalf of Honnavar Port Private Limited (HPPL) unleashed terror on fishers on 25 February 2025...

On the sands of Tonka several fishers were arrested and then imprisoned in Dharwad 2025 under instructions from Karwar Deputy Commisioner...

On the sands of Tonka are preying eyes of colanizers to impose Port for coal and iron ore packaged as "regional development" ruining Fisheries.

On the sands of Tonka is unbelievable accusation in NGT 10 June 2025 Judgement Para 47 "In fact, the Learned Counsel for the 2nd respondent would state that in order to oppose the project coming up certain miscreants have planted turtle eggs in the beaches of the Kasargod." And Judges believed instead of reprimanding the leanered counsel!

On the sands of Tonka we ruminate NGT verdict that voice of Public is not required to be heard by holding "Public Hearing" while grating Environmental Clearance...

On the sands of Tonka we learned how terrified HPPL is of Public Voices; we shall multiply our voices further!

On the sands of Tonka, Kasargod is first beach in the world therefore for plantation of turtle eggs!

On the sands of Tonka Rajesh Tandel and his team kept vigil to protect Olive Ridley turtle nesting and NGT Judgement refers to them as "certain miscreants"! 

On the sands of Tonka peaked battle royal on 25 February 2025 fishers famous for dry fish got into Arabian Sea waters to say no to Port on the beach...

On the sands of Tonka Uttar Kannada police unleashed terror on 25 Febrary 2025 against local fishers and tagged them criminals with dozen sections from BNS, Indian criminal law.

On the sands of Tonka people 45 people including 07 women booked arrested from and 24 imprisoned for 24 days in Dharwad Jail without bail on 25 February 2025

On the sands of Tonka young 18 years old girl Apeksha Tandel provoked crisis in the administration when she addressed press conference rebuking police repression in her village on 25 February 2025...

On the sands of Tonka Police unleashed selective violence against young man Raju Tandel as a reward for his Lokayukta litigations exposing scams of Port authorities.

On the sands of Tonka flourished dry fishing livelihoods till Port captured the coast few years ago...

On the sands of Tonka are found footprints of brave locals gushing forth to uphold the flag of freedom...

On the sands of Tonka lies the call to us to play our role to defend fisher people, to defend serene coast, uphold fishers right to water, and lot more...

On the sands of Tonka lies an invitation to imagine and indulge, play our cards to safeguard the beach worthy still to build castles in the sand...

On the sands of Tonka there is a calling to intellectuals, writers, poets, academics, journalists, cartoonists, creative, and all those who love defend freedom to join shoulder-to-shoulder people of Kasargod and raise the uprising just the way there is world wide uprising in defence of Palestine fishers and other people...

On the sands of Tonka there are CCTV survellance cameras installed and electricity poles planted, road constructed and Artificial Lighting at Night (ALAN) in place, all done to push push back turtles and the fishers when 24 village men were kept in Dharwad Jail for 24 days...

On the sands of Tonka there is travesty of Justice in all forms: Around 1000 Police force of Uttara Kannada administer violence without name plates on their chests but with masks on their faces, NGT Chennai delivers Judgement without Justice.

On the sands of Tonka there is fading memory of the two people who pronounced 10 June 2025 National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chennai as sample of what could be worst imaginable environmental jurisprudence: Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, JM and Dr. Satyagopal Korlapati, EM

On the sands of Tonka there is tragedy of commons witnessed as corporates and private interests - hidden faces behind Honnavar Port Private - Limited decimates India's Environmental Jurisprudence.

On the sands of Tonka there is a lazy emerging resurgence of might with waves of the sea as its mighty strength; let's cheer as it builds up...

On the sands of Tonka there are whispers "so what if MOEF&CC and NGT and HPPL doesn't care to listen to the voice of the coast? We will still speak up and speak up with all our might, might of the Arabian Sea waves, might of gushing waters of Sharavathi River and might of our ancestors!"

On the sands of Tonka we realize we now need to unleash networks of mass collaboration to surmount the challenge! 

Sebastian Rodrigues

When Police shocked Tonka fishing community at Kasarkod, Honnavar notes reflections from ground zero

03 March 2025

Few more detailed gory facts about Tonka, Kasarkod Police violence has come to our attention as under:

1. On February 25, 2025 at 10.00 am Karnataka Police descended on Tonka, Kasarkod in Honnavar Taluka Taluka in Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka State in Western India. They were around 1000 personnel in uniform. 50% of them were in suspicious dress code: khaki Police uniform without their name plates and buckle numbers tagged on their shirts and with black masks covering their faces. Unusual police outfit.

2. Fishing community at Tonka Beach is in legal possession of the Coastal land from 1991 according to the knowledgeable sources. Hence are entitled to be served notice in case State Authorities need possession of the land for any purpose. So far no notices are served on any of them.

3. State Authorities are trying to take possession of the Coastal beach land at Tonka without serving notices to fishing communities by use of Police force to survey their immovable property including their land and houses for past four years.

4. This attempt has been challenged successfully by fishing communities of Tonka over this period.

5. On July 21, 2021 State administration attempted to demolish the fishing communities houses through bulldozers during heavy rains. This attempt was countered successfully by fishing communities there.

6. Local fisherman Raju Tandel filed complaint before Lokayukta, Karnataka against Assistant Director of Land Records (ADLR), Honnavar for carrying on survey in their village without serving notices to the villagers. Lokayukta took cognizance of the complaint and even indicted higher officer holding the post of Assistant Commisioner (AC) at Bhatkal in this crime. Officer went to Politicians for protection but wasn't successful. The rage accumulated against Raju Tandel was intense.

7. Raju Tandel spoke at the public protests against the illegal survey in the village with police protection and joined the group of village people to drawn themselves in waters of Arabian Sea as an expression of dissent between 10.30 am to 11.00 am. Raju was injured during this act as salty sea water entered his body; was taken to hospital where he vomited during treatment. Hospital records of 25.02.2025 notes in his case papers "alleged attempt to drawn by falling into water". After sometime with due treatment Raju Tandel was sent back and reached home at Tonka around 2.00 pm. He was resting in his house and had not taken any food intake. 

8. While Raju Tandel returned home Police were providing protection to those carrying on illegal survey of the Beach locality to mark out land with installation of cement boundary stones painted with danger red on both sides of the road and marking out houses to be demolished.

9. In the meanwhile young girl from the family of Raju Tandel named Apeksha R. Tandel gave media bite that went viral during the day. She declared that she will commit suicide in case her parents are taken in Police custody. 

10. Viral video attracted visit from Lady Assistant Commisioner, Bhatkal to her house along with 8 Policemen and team from Women and Child Welfare department along with Tehsildar, Honnavar to Raju Tandel's residence at 3.30 pm. They entered sitting room inside the house of Raju Tandel and questioned the girl assuming that she is a minor. They instructed villagers not to video film the discussions for some mysterious reasons. They wanted to know as to who tutored Apeksha to speak to media threatening suicide and and wanted to take her away from the village but did not do anything like that. 

11. Instead Lady Assitant Commisioner went out of the house to receive the phone call on her mobile phone. Villagers standing nearby heard her telling on the phone to fetch two police vans at Tonka.

12. While still inside in his house hungry Raju Tandel got a call around 4.00 pm that Police are beating up his fellow fisher neighbour Ravi Tandel. Hearing this Raju Tandel rushed out of house into the Gallery. In the gallery police caught hold of Raju Tandel and dragged him out away from the house. There they started beating him up with lathis and fists. They then pushed him on ground and kicked him with heavy police shoes. Imagine the agony Raju has gone through already. Then they dragged him around 20 meters and pushed him inside the police van and continued to beat him up. Then police closed the door and windows of the police vans and we don't know what happened to him after that. We don't know the depth of cruelty inflicted on Raju Tandel.

13. Several more fishers were beaten up like Raju, dragged and pushed inside the police van. Mangunath Pandurang Tandel was dragged from his house toilet while answering nature's call. Ragavendra Prakash Tandel was arrested from the same house as Raju Tandel. Some of these 45 people are very vulnerable financially, medically and are still languishing inside the jail at Dharwad as of on 03.03.2025 almost a week in police lock up without freedom, without bail. None of these fishers have ventured in their cannoes for their daily fishing activities.

14. Police manhandled, beaten up, bruised several women too and were taken in custody. Some of these women includes Roja Ramesh Tandel, Padmavati Hanumant Tandel, Nagamani Deepak Tandel, Parvati Mahadev Tandel, Sunita Satosh Tandel and Roshni Datta Tandel. These women were released on the city road middle of the night at 9.00 pm by police; left to find their way home on their own. Still some more women found themselves abandoned in the city hospital at 2.00 am on 26.02.2025 as police just vanished. 

15. They were taken for medical tests at Honnavar Government Hospital. Medical team at the hospital refused to treat any injuries women received due to police violence. There were bruises on faces and upper portion of women's hands when ther were violently pinched and beaten up. Hospital simply refused to put this on record. Instead hospital staff told women to tell if they got cough and fever which they were really to treat. And none had any of these sicknesses. This is a dangerous case of medical establishment colluding with police to perpetrate injustice and oppresion against fishing communities.

16. When Rekha Rajesh Tandel collapsed during protests on 25.02.2025 police refused nearby government Ambulance to be made available to take her to the hospital. Private Ambulance had to be arranged at the cost of Rs.5000/- to rush her to the hospital. A week later she is still shocked and getting treatment in ICU of the hospital while her husband Rajesh Tandel who champions turtle conservation efforts at Tonka beach is in Darward jail along with his fellow fishermen while their children are sheltered by good Samaritan somewhere at the neighbourhood.

17. While people were being taken taken into police vans to effect arrests police went on chasing people grabbed them and took away several mobile phones. Phone are not returned till date and can be termed as robbery by police personel. They did this so that there will be no video records of the constitutional violations, human rights violations. Some phone were formated immidiately to do away with video that could be used as evidence against this police action.

18. The above details indicates that fishing communities at Tonka, Kasarkod, Honnavar are subject to terrorist actions in police uniforms. There is complete collapse of police department and terrorist mindset has hijacked policing in Uttar Kannada District. Police has attracted notoriety for Karnataka Home Ministry. 

19. Urgent steps are necessary to deal with this situation. This note needs to be shared widely and acted upon. Community resisting predatory attack from Police and Port authorities needs to be supported strongly in all possible ways. Condemnation statements against Atrocities committed and reported in this note needs to be issued widely. This note needs to be studied and acted upon in various study groups across India and beyond and effective strategy chalked out to deal with various aspects and challenges in sensible and sensitive manner. 

Sebastiao Rodrigues 

General Secretary

National Platform of Small-Scale Fishworkers (NFSF)

Letter to Karwar Deputy Commisioner on Police repression at Tonka and Keni in Uttar Kannada

From:

Sebastiao Rodrigues

General Secretary,

National Federation of Small-Scale Fishworkers (NFSF),

20/4, Sil Lane, 

Kolkata - 700 015

Mobile: 9923336347

E-mail: inlandfisheries.india@gmail.com 

Date: 27 February 2025

Ref. no. NFSF/GS/Kar-01/25

To,

K. Laxmipriya

Deputy Commisioner,

Karwar,

Uttar Kannada,

Karnataka,

India 

Email: dckarwar@gmail.com 

Phone: 9483511015, 9791099097, 9449589597

Subject: Police repression against fishing communities at Keni, Ankola on 24.02.2025 and at Kasarkod, Honnavar on 25.02.2025...Regarding.

Madam,

We are constrained to draw your attention to the following two media reports:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/fishermen-and-women-jump-into-sea-to-oppose-keni-commercial-port-in-karnataka/article69257361.ece

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/protest-against-port-intensifies-in-uk-dist/articleshow/118564021.cms

We are shocked to note that your office authorised Police action on small scale fishing communities on the coast of Keni village in Ankola Taluka and in Kasarkod village in Honnavar Taluka back to back on 24 and 25 February 2025.

We have got reports that fishing communities in both the localities are fiercely opposed to the proposed Port projects and your office is providing Police protections to protect Port developers. 

We consider that it is of utmost urgency that coast is defended from such developments as it threatens not only fishing based livelihoods but also community identity as fishers. And we are already aware the irreversible damage faced by fishing communities due to Port installations in Karwar. We got to lessons from this rather than committing more such follies.

We have also received information that 45 fisher people of Kasarkod, Honnavar are criminally chared under as many as thirteen sections of BNS that attracts punishment extending to death sentence and life sentence. This is the reward State administration has bestowed upon these fishers for demonstrating their intention to protect the coast at Tonka, Kasargod that is Turtle Nesting site from permanent damage through Port project. Amongst those criminally charged includes 38 men and 07 women named in FIR registered against them at Honnavara Police station on 25.02.2025 with 0049/2025 as crime number.

What is shocking is that amongst those criminally charged includes also those who were not present to commit the offences they are supposed to have committed. The example of Ganapati Tandel and Renuka Ganapati Tandel is one of the glaring one as they were in transit from Mangalore to Bengaluru on 25.02.2025 evening flight.

The choice of names in FIR indicates malafide intention of mass criminalization of fishing communities to instill fear amongst fearless, courageous and dignified fishers of Kasarkod.

As we came to know through media reports that fishers have been in opposition to Port project for past four years it looks to be desperate attempt of State administration to tag these fishers as criminals once again. We are aware that this was attempted earlier too.

Times of India links we shared on this report has interesting conclusion that we wish to quote for you here "While the government views the port construction as a means to boost trade and commerce, fishermen fear loss of their livelihood." NFSF stands on the side of fishermen and express our total outrage againt all the intimidating tactics adopted against fishing communities both in Ankola and Honnavara coasts.

In Kasarkod 1000 Policemen were brought in to protect surveyors landside of the HTL while people gathered on the beach on inter-tidal space and water. Few Policemen were spotted without their name plates and buckle numbers on their uniforms. Additionally few Policemen covered their faces with black masks which was very suspicious act in itself as we noticed from the photos circulating on social media.

We got reports that police entered people's houses later in the evening and whisked away people to police vans to bebtaken into police custody.

We really want you to take through the labyrinths of criminality attributed to dignified fishermen and fisherwonen of Kasarkod. Here are the 13 sections of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023:

Section on fisherfolk at Tonka;

109; Attempt to murder. This attracts even life sentence.

115(2); Punishment for voluntarily causing 

hurt. This attracts one year in Prison

121(1);Voluntarily causing hurt or grivious hirt to deter public servant from his duty. This has five year jail term

 126(2); Wrongful restraint. This attracts one month imprisonment.

132; Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty. This attracts two years imprisonment. 

189(2);Unlawful assembly- Being member of 

unlawful assembly. This attracts six months jail term.

190;Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object.

191(2); Rioting- Punishment for rioting. Two years jail term.

351(3); Criminal intimidation punishment. This attracts jail sentence of seven years.

352; Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace. This attracts two years imprisonment.

49; Punishment of abetment if act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made 

for its punishment.

61(2); Criminal conspiracy punishment. This attracts death sentence.

74; Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty. This attracts punishment of five years imprisonment.

And now we wish to reproduce names of fishers of Kasarkod recorded in FIR mentioned above. We start with seven women accused:

1. Parvati Datta Tandel

2. Recharge Rajesh Tandel

3. Bharati Rajesh Tandel

4. Renuka Ganapati Tandel

5. Vimala Kamalakar

6. Yashoda Devendra Tandel

7. Vishala Shantaram Tandel

And now 38 fishermen of Kasarkod accused:

1. Rajesh Govind Tandel

2. Hamja Patel

3. Raju Datta Tandel

4. Mahamad Koya Sab

5. Vivan Felison Fernandes

6. Rajesh Sheshagiri Tandel

7. Ayub Sab

8. Bhaskar Tandel

9. Ramesh Babu Tandel

10. Manjunath Devayya Tandel

11. Manoj Sheshagiri Tandel

12. Yasin Hamja Sab

13. Ganapati Tandel

14. Ramesh Manjunath Tandel

15. Manjunath Pandurang Tandel

16. Raghuvendra Prakash Tandel

17. Made Janna Tandel

18. Siyab Shaikh Kunji Sab

19. Rajesh Mohan Tandel

20. Mahammad Yahya Mohammad Sab Baba

21. Nagaraj Devappa Tandel

22. Basheer Ismail Patel

23. Mahammad Abdul Patel

24. Tamum Jameer Sab

25. Suleman G.H. Hassan

26. Siraj Hamjad Sab

27. Sachin Chandra Tandel

28. Sandeep Ramdas Tandel

29. Narasimha Nanda Tandel

30. Salman Khan Ismail Sab

31. Subray Damu Tandel

32. Harsha Pandurang Tandel

33. Kiran Ramchandra Mesta

34. Shantaram Manjunath Tandel

35. Vinay Krishna Tandel

36. Manjunath Tandel

37. Ashfaq Mahhamad Nellikum

38. Ramesh Manjunath Tandel

And the team that criminalized these fishers all have common address: Port office, Honnavar, R/o Sea Bird Road, Baithkol, Karwar, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka

The one signed as complainant is Sayinath Narayan Pednekar. And five names that appears in FIR includes Matesh Fernandes, Roshan Gunagi, Vivek Savant, Batte A.Y. and Vinayak Datta Naik. 

Please convey our strongest outrage to the Karnataka administration that has unleashed Police terror though your office against fishing communities defending their lives and fishing based livelihoods. 

We hereby call upon your office: 

1. To stop harrarrasing and criminalizing fishing communities who live dignified life though their fishing based hard labour. Neither State nor Corporate has right to expell them from the coast. 

2. To withdraw all the criminal cases filed against fishers on 25.02.2025 as mentioned above. We call upon your office to get the FIR quashed.

Fishers in Uttara Kannada deserve much better treatment than the way your office is perceiving them as criminals that are to be banished from the coast. This is indeed abuse of your office to launch something heineou against fishing communities who are first defence of our coasts. It is deeply regrettable to note the way your office is treating fishing communities in insulting manner.

Awaiting your quick and decisive response in defence of fishing communities.

Thanking you, 

Yours Truly,

Sebastiao Rodrigues

General Secretary, 

National Federation of Small-Scale Fishworkers (NFSF)

Copy to:

1. All concerned government authorities 

2. Fishing communities on the coast of Uttara Kannada District.