Rapid and haphazard industrialisation of Visakhapatnam during the past four decades has resulted in the city being deprived of its old-world charm and pollution spreading its tentacles contaminating air, ground water and bringing in various other problems, said speakers at a meeting held here on Sunday.
The meeting was organised by the Human Rights Forum (HRF) to mark the release of a book ‘Visakhaku 7 va number kalushya hechcharika’ on the growing pollution and its impact on the lives of the citizens.
The speakers recalled how Visakhapatnam, which was cool, had clean air and wide beaches, was increasingly being disturbed by ‘destruction’ in the name of development.
The shrinking shoreline was due to the development at ports and on shore.
Communist Party of India (CPI) State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy and HRF district president M. Sharat recalled how they used to play at the RK Beach and other beaches during the 1970s without any fear of drowning.
“The water, which used to be about half-a-km away from the land in those days, is now barely a few furlongs away,” they said.
“Things have come to such a pass that we cannot walk without slippers even at home. The dust pollution, carried by the winds during summer, has pervaded many parts of the city, including far-away Akkayyapalem and Seethammadhara. During the early 1970s, Visakhapatnam Port was mostly importing commodities like wheat and sugar but after 1980s, coal was the main cargo imported by the port,” Mr. Murthy said.
A resident of One Town Area in the city and retired employee of the port Ali Khan called for stern measures to check pollution in the Old City.
