Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

‘Coastal corridor poses a threat to eco-system’

VIJAYAWADA: Several speakers on Thursday felt the need for forming a broad-based forum with all political parties and associations that come forward to oppose the ‘coastal corridor’, which was “a threat to environment and poses a grave danger to the livelihood of people of the region.”

This opinion was expressed at a meeting organised by the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) Krishna district committee at Press Club on the topic “Coastal corridor for whom and for what?”

K. Babu Rao, a retired scientist of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, said that the ecology of the entire coastal belt could get damaged due to the chemical pollution arising out of the several industries that would be set up as part of the special economic zones in coastal corridor.

Industries would also certainly release effluents into the sea directly, thus endangering the fragile eco-system of the coastal region. Coastal corridor would also deal a death blow to the forests and turn the coast into a desert.

Jana Vignana Vedika State vice-president Vijay Kumar said that the responsibility of protecting the coastal region rested on the local people, which would be required even more so in the event of bifurcation of the State.

The coastal region had unmatched natural resources, and the special economic zones were being set up only to give away these resources and valuable land to foreign companies.

The idea of SEZs and corridors was the brainchild of former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and the same policies were being pursued by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy too.

CPI State secretariat member S. Venkateswarlu demanded that a report should be released to the public with details of the objectives of the corridor, to what extent it would benefit the youth in terms of jobs and so on. The government, which was reluctant to give even a cent of land to the poor despite many agitations launched by the CPI, was ever ready to give away huge tracts of land to private companies in the name of SEZs.

AIYF State general secretary G. Eswaraiah demanded a white paper on the proposed corridor. CPI city secretary K. Subba Raju was present, while AIYF State president P. Ramesh presided.

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