Meter set up to study environmental impact of Sethu project missing

A current meter set up to study the environmental impact of the proposed Sethusamudaram project, some nautical miles from Kodiakkarai, is missing.

It was set up a few months ago by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, on the directions of the Supreme Court to study the water currents, their temperature, direction, speed and turbidity in the proposed project area. The meter was anchored some 10 nautical miles to monitor and record the readings every month on a given date. The last such reading was collated by scientists from the CMFR on June 17 and the meter was also shifted from its earlier position east of Kodiakkarai to east of Vedaranyam to avoid disturbing fishing activities. The meter was guarded by a boat with five fishermen round-the-clock at a cost of Rs.6,000 per day.

On June 19, the boat had moved some five nautical miles towards the shore owing to rough sea, and on their return, the meter is said to have gone missing.

High tide could have immersed the current meter, says a fisheries official. At the time of erection, the Fisheries Department and all fishing habitations were informed of the equipment.

On Tuesday, a net was employed to locate the meter. However, the net was damaged in the rough seas.

The current meter is one of nine such meters set up at different points along the proposed Sethusamudaram project area, including Pamban and Rameswaram.