The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Row over dredging takes a turn

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Friday, Jul 31, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Row over dredging takes a turn

V. Raghavendra

KAKINADA: The controversy over dredging by Kakinada Seaports Limited (KSPL) at the northern tip of Hope Island took a curious turn when Kakinada RDO G.C. Kishore Kumar ordered the Fisheries Department and other officials concerned to show past records on how the island looked like before the KSPL came into existence.

Complete data, including satellite pictures of the island, are sought to be produced for the purpose of making a technical evaluation. The RDO wanted to see whether the KSPL undertook dredging outside the permitted area or the island itself expanded towards the place where regular dredging was inevitable to keep port channel navigable for ships.

The KSPL has claimed that it was only dredging a sand trap at the island’s northern tip. Sand needed to be flushed out periodically from the trap to ensure unhindered access for ships to Kakinada deep water port. According to the Central Water and Power Research Station’s analysis, the rate of siltation in the sand trap would be of the order of 0.6 million cubic meters per annum if dredging is not done at regular intervals. The KSPL has also stated that sand was overflowing from the trap into the port channel as dredging was not done for a long time. At a ‘Grama Sabha’ held on Tuesday as per instructions of the District Collector and State Human Rights Commission, the fishermen contended that dredging by KSPL caused a substantial decline in the yield of marine species, thereby jeopardising their livelihood whereas Deputy Director Fisheries V.V.S.R.V. Prasad said the availability of marine species could go up as the dredging has since been suspended. KSPL Deputy General Manager Mr. Jacob refuted the allegations that dredging was done in violation of norms and asserted that there was no harm to the fishermen’s livelihood.

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