Yuva Bharat Force, a voluntary organisation, has appealed to the State government to reconsider the proposal of setting up desalination plants along the coastal cities including Visakhapatnam, claiming that the move would affect the livelihood of fishermen.
Israeli firm IDE Technologies, during a recent meeting with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has offered the technology to set up desalination plants in the State.
Plankton growth
“The desalination plants will release brine. The high concentration of salt in brine will take a toll on the fish growth. It will also take a toll on the growth of plankton, a major feed of fish, thereby forcing the migration of fish species into the deep sea. Brine will restrict the growth in the 70 to 80 km of desalination plants,” Yuva Bharat Force president Mohammed Sadiq told the media here on Monday.
Groundwater contamination
He further said that the effluent will also resulting in the increase in underwater temperature, posing a threat to the marine biodiversity, apart from contaminating the groundwater.
Citing an estimate, Mr. Sadiq said that fishing was providing direct and indirect employment to around 14.5 lakh people in the State.
“Fisheries sector contributes 0.4% to the GDP. Establishing desalination plants will result in loss of livelihood of fishermen,” he said.
Mr. Sadiq further pointed out that desalination plants were successful in less populous countries where the dependence on fisheries was negligible.
“Population of Israel is less than 1 crore when compared to 4.5 crore in Andhra Pradesh. Israel needs only 65,000 tonnes of fish as the country imports about 65% of its requirement,” he said.
Research findings
Quoting findings of a research conducted in Mediterranean Sea, he said fishery resources were being affected owing to the effluents discharged from desalination plants. Yuva Bharat Force members Devarakonda Markendile was present on the occasion.
