The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Establishments along coastline prone to hazards

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Tuesday, Aug 17, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Establishments along coastline prone to hazards

Special Correspondent

Expert calls for disaster management plan for industries in coastal areas

INCOIS prepares demonstration maps for Nellore and Cuddalore
Coastal vulnerability index prepared for all States except Gujarat

HYDERABAD: The State government is leaving no stone unturned to attract investments in the special economic zones and petrol, chemical and petro chemical investment region planned along more than 1,000-km coastline.

Damage feared

But the authorities concerned appear to have not made a detailed assessment of hazards like storm surges, tidal waves and cyclones that could result in immense damage to the establishments.

According to Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) director S.S.C. Shenoi, absence of disaster management planning in development of industry and other establishments on coastline would have severe consequences. “But we are living in a democracy and there are a lot of conflicting interests at work, not science alone,” he said.

Prone to storms

Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Shenoi said the Indian coastline was prone to major storm surges and cyclones and adequate preparedness on the part of the authorities concerned would help in minimising the damage, if not mitigating it altogether.

Quoting the devastation caused by Latur and Kutch earthquakes in the past, he said the intensity of the two events was not severe, but the damage they caused, including loss of lives, could have been brought down considerably had there been adequate planning.

Rs. 50-crore project

Dr. Shenoi said the INCOIS had prepared demonstration maps for the districts of Cuddalore and Nellore it was hopeful of mapping the entire coastline within three years. INCOIS had planned the exercise with an estimated Rs. 50 crore and it was expecting sanctions to the project at the earliest.

The INCOIS, set up after the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, had completed preparation of coastal vulnerability index considering aspects like erosion and deposition and the data had been completed for all States except Gujarat.

“We are planning to release the data within three months,” he said.

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