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Team visits Gopalpur coast

BERHAMPUR: A high-level team led by the State Special Secretary for Forest and Environment, B. K. Patnaik, visited sea-ravaged Gopalpur coast for a field survey on Tuesday.

This team included administrative and forest officials, members of the Orissa beach protection council and members of the CRZ management committee of Ganjam district.

The team made a field survey of the destructive actions of the sea waves at this beach resort during last few months.

Later this team also held discussions with the authorities of the Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) and officials of the district administration regarding the situation of sea erosion at the Gopalpur beach.

Mr Patnaik said the data collected by this team would be placed at a meeting of experts of Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management (ICMAM) on Aug 17 to chalk out a plan of coastal management to protect the sea beach at Gopalpur.

The Central Government has already sanctioned a three-year project to collect data from Gopalpur coast, find out reason behind recent catabolic effect of sea waves at this coast and to suggest measures for beach protection.

President of the Orissa beach protection council, Jagannath Bastia suggested the Ganjam district administration to demolish all concrete structures on the Gopalpur beach that have been damaged by the sea waves as the structures may any day fall on the tourists visiting the beach.

According to him the structures that have been built violating the CRZ norms have fallen prey to sea erosion in recent times.

The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Berhampur, S.N.Mohaptra, who heads the CRZ management committee in the district also had a similar view. According to him fishermen despite warnings are establishing hamlets too near the sea line not taking CRZ norms into account and are facing the destructive face of the sea.

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