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| Gopalpur port expansion hits green hurdle |
| Hrusikesh Mohanty / Kolkata/ Berhampur Aug 04, 2009, 00:25 IST |
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The expansion of Gopalpur port in south Orissa’s Ganjam district has hit the green hurdle with environmental activists and wildlife experts fearing that the port’s expansion may spell doom for the famed Olive Ridley turtles.
These turtles move in thousands every winter to the mouth of the Rushikulya river, about 17 km from the proposed site of the port.
An expert team from the Union ministry of environment is scheduled to visit the site very soon to assess the impact of the port’s expansion on the turtles.
An expert team of the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) had earlier visited the site. The SCZMA is yet to clear the proposed project. Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL), a consortium of three companies, proposed to develop the Gopalpur port in phases with an investment of about Rs 2,000 crore.
The company, which has already completed its first phase of work, is now ready to start the second phase work at an estimated cost of Rs 950 crore following which the port can handle four million tonnes of cargo. The environmentalists feared that the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles may vanish as the port dredging would lead to fast erosion of the sea beach.
“The port expansion will adversely affect the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles”, said noted environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty.
“The turtles are generally photo-sensitive. They will be attracted towards the light and will face difficulties when the port activities take place”, said an ocean scientist on the condition of anonymity.
The Rushikulya river mouth is considered to be the second largest nesting site of the Olive Ridley turtles in the world after the Gahiramatha beach.
Terming the Rushikulya river mouth as a sacred place for the wildlife and nature lovers, the wildlife experts said the site should be preserved for the rare breed of turtles.
However, the GPL authorities brushed aside all apprehensions of the environmentalists and wildlife experts.
“The mass nesting site of the turtles is far away from the port site. As per our assessment, there would be no impact of the port’s expansion activities on the turtles”, said MM Maharana, director of GPL.
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