06/12/2007 (newindpress.com), Kozhikode - The LDF, various youth organisations and farmers’ outfits have called a hartal in Beypore panchayat on Thursday to protest against the import of palm oil at the Beypore port.

The hartal will be from 6 am to 1 pm and essential services have been excluded from the purview of the hartal. A meeting will be organised at Beypore in the evening.

Activists of the All India Kisan Sabha, Karshaka Sangham, AIYF, DYFI, Yuva Janata Dal and Infarm organised protests at the port after a palm oil-laden ship arrived at the port from Indonesia on Wednesday morning.

The ship — ‘SC Tianjin’ — has 12,000 metric tonnes of palm oil, of which 6,000 metric tonnes is to be pumped into the containers at the port for a private company here.

On hearing the news, activists of different organisations rushed to the port, making it a spot for agitations. Leaders including Sathyan Mokeri, C P Balan Vaidyar staged a dharna at the port saying that they will not allow the import.

Palm oil from ship was brought near the port in barges. But it was not pumped into the containers in the port. The compressor used for pumping was damaged by the protestors.

Sathyan Mokeri told this website's newspaper that palm oil import would not be allowed at any cost. ‘‘The effort to import palm oil took place at a time when the State Government is trying its best to force the Centre to impose a ban.’’ Infarm leaders Fr. Joseph Ottaplakkal and Fr.Antony Kozhuvanal also took part in the blockade.

They asked the Centre to immediately stop the import, which will break the backbone of farmers. Meanwhile, District Collector A Jayathilak has ordered that the palm oil should not be sold or distributed without clearance.

Authorities have collected the sample from the barge and sent it to the Regional Analytical Lab for examination.

There were protests in Beypore when another ship — ‘Earth Song’ — from Malaysia arrived here with palm oil.