Puducherry 9 Sep : Fishing fishermen in Puducherry have protested against the construction of an inland fishing port in the mouth of Thenpennai River as severe coastal erosion has begun along the southern coast.According to residents in the fishing communities of Moolavalli and Pudukuppam the sand has begun to degrade significantly in the area since the rocks were dumped to facilitate the building of the harbour for fishing.
V.Chandrashekhar, President of Bangaaru Vaickal Neeraadhara Kootamaippu which is a group for the safeguarding of waters bodies informed IANS that the rocks been blocking the drift of coastal sand and this caused erosion.
The social activist claimed that this would result in farms becoming infertile and saline.It will also affect all fishing hamlets.
The local fishing entrepreneur Swaminathan Sankaran told IANS that “the sea has already moved closer by 200 meters because of erosion over the past few years and it’s happening faster.If the sea gets closer, we will not be able to take a fishing trip”.
The proposed harbour for fishing According to fishermen, the proposed fishing harbour could further exacerbate the problem and will completely degrade the sand dunes of the region, causing saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers.
In areas like Muthialpet, Solainagar and Vaithikuppam in Puducherry The TDS concentration (total dissolving solids) of water is above 3,500, and levels over 300 render the water unsafe for drinking.
They also claimed that only an approach based on science will stop erosion.If one structure is constructed it will create an effect of cascading, which will lead to the erosion of sand in areas to the north of it.
aal/vd
