PALGHAR, Oct. 7 -- Over 7,000 villagers gathered at a public hearing held at Palghar on Monday and expressed their strong opposition to the proposed JSW Murbe port. Many of the protestors raised their concerns about the environmental and social implications of such a project. The public hearing was held to discuss the all-weather multi-cargo greenfield deep-water port at Murbe being constructed by a private port operator, JSW Infrastructure. The operator had received a letter of intent from the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) for the development, operation, management, and maintenance of the proposed port in October last year. The proposed port with a construction cost of Rs.19,960 crore, is expected to handle a cargo of 134.07 metric tons per annum (MTPA). As per JSW Infrastructure, the port will be constructed between Satpati and Ucheli creek in Palghar taluka, and nearly 1065 acres of land will be reclaimed and developed around the port to build facilities for containers. In addition, 190 acres around the area will be used to lay out rails, roads, pipelines and other facilities connecting to the port. JSW Infrastructure plans to dredge nearly 37 million cubic metres of sand to build the port, of which 31 million cubic metres will be used to reclaim the shallow waterfront in Palghar. In the crowd were women from nearby coastal villages who highlighted the damage that such a project could cause to fishing and related occupations. Protestors also raised concerns about the safety of the Tarapur Atomic Power Plant and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Plant, which are in the area. People also pointed out that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Murbe port had been conducted and finalised without considering the impact of the project on nearby villages like Satpati and Dandi....