Environmental activists and scientists have written to Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Ujwalkumar Ghosh opposing the construction of a multipurpose port at Tadadi in Kumta taluk.
The letter was sent to the Deputy Commissioner’s office ahead of a public hearing held on Monday at Tadadi, according to a report on Tuesday.
In the letter, they said that before launching the port, the State government should take up a survey in the district which was overburdened with a number of projects and lakhs of acres of lush green natural forest had been lost. ‘The Aghanashini river basin, where it joins the Arabian sea is an environmental super sensitive area. It covers a vast area of the Kandla forests that gives shelter to innumerable water creatures. There are traditional areas of fishing, agriculture and shell mining that bring more than thousand crore rupees a year,” said T.V. Ramachandran, scientist, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
The others who have signed the letter are scientist M.D. Subhaschandran Kumta, marine biologist V.S. Naik, enviromentalists M.R. Hegde of Shehakunja Honnavar, Panduranga Hegde of the Parisara Samrakshana Kendra Sirsi, Ganapati Hegde of the Vrakshalaksha Andolan, Mangaldas Shetty Kagal, Balachandra Sayimane, and Sadanand Harkantra.
They also said that the proposed port site comes under the Coastal Regulation Zone Act and the Karnataka Coastal Zone Management Authority had not given permission for the project.
They have also warned against the proposed ultra mega power generation plant on the Aghanashini river basin.
In the letter, the scientists expressed their concern over loss of bio-diversity in the Kandla forests if the port is constructed there.
‘Take up survey in Uttara Kannada district’
