The Chennai-headquartered National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) has conducted studies on the beach erosion between Rushikonda and Gangavaram Port with World Bank funding and the report will be submitted to the government by June next year, Director of NCCR M.V. Ramana Murthy has said.
He was here to participate in the foundation stone laying for construction of the Regional Centre of NCCR on Dolphin’s Nose hill here on Friday. The foundation stone was laid by Union Minister for Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan.
Dr. Murthy said that the report would suggest the interventions required to prevent beach erosion on the stretch, particularly at R.K. Beach and Rushikonda. The option of setting up artificial reefs would also be explored. The idea would be to provide sustainable solutions that do not cause adverse impact at other locations due to change in the course of the tide.
Shoreline mapping
The NCCR has done shoreline mapping for the entire coastline of the country on 1: 25,000 scale. The maps, released in 2017, indicate the extent of beach erosion State-wise. These maps were being updated every year. A rise in sea-level by 3 cm a year was observed at some places, resulting in inundation of low-lying areas along the coast. These were mostly in northern Bay of Bengal in Odisha and West Bengal.
NCCR was also conducting studies on the ways to control marine pollution as industrial effluents were being released into the sea, destroying tremendous marine resources. Efforts were also being made in coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to develop a climate resilient coast and for minimising pollution of backwaters, which support a large eco-system.
Referring to the Coringa backwaters near Kakinada, Dr. Murthy said “the mangrove ecosystem requires the right mix of fresh water and sea water. The salinity should be maintained to protect the ecosystem.” The coastal erosion on the beaches of Puducherry has been checked by pumping sand and erecting artificial reefs.
The NCCR Regional Centre, to be constructed 5.3 acre land, belonging to the IMD atop Dolphin’s Nose Hill, would have remote sensing labs, GIS labs and observatories. “The centre would have 20 permanent staff ,” he said.
