A recent report by the National Center for Coastal Research (NCCR), under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, warns that the country’s coastline is shrinking due to erosion and other reasons, and this is leading to several serious environmental, social and livelihood crises. is the mother of In Tamil Nadu alone, some 42.7 percent of the sea coast has become a victim of contraction, although about 235.85 km of coastline has also expanded.
When the sea shores are cut, the fishermen, farmers and settlements living along its shores face an existential crisis. The most worrisome is that where the rivers are meeting the sea, there is more erosion. Due to this, the health of the rivers can deteriorate further. The crisis of erosion has deepened even along the 480 km sea line of six districts of Odisha – Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Kendrapara. The Odisha Climate Change Action Plan (2021-2030) states that 36.9 per cent of the sea shores in the state are fast eroding into the sea. The situation in Bengal is the worst. In the research of University of Kerala, Trivandrum, it has been told that in the last 14 years, 2.62 square kilometers between Podiyar and Achunthang in Trivandrum district got absorbed in the ocean. By the way, it has also come to know from this research that in the same period, the flow of the sea has also created 700 meters of new land.
Data from the Chennai-based National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management, which works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, shows that the country has a total coastline of 6,907 km and has suffered some or the other damage in the last 28 years. . The sea border in West Bengal is 534.45 km and out of this, 60.5 percent i.e. 323.07 km has registered deep sea erosion. Gujarat has the largest coastline in the country, which is 1,945.60 km. There has been erosion of 537.50 km. Out of total 1,027.58 km in Andhra Pradesh, 294.89 km, 422.94 km out of 991.47 in Tamil Nadu is being seen.
Puducherry, which was once famous for having the most beautiful beaches, is slowly losing its shores. On one side the constructions are increasing, and on the other side the scope of the sea. There is only 41.66 km of coastline, of which 56.2 percent has been affected by erosion. In small islands like Daman, Diu, 34.6 percent of the coast is believed to be affected by erosion. Out of the 592.96 km coastline of Kerala, 56.2 per cent is slowly being eroded. Erosion due to the sea is also increasing in Maharashtra. Coastal Research Center has identified 98 such places where erosion is fast. Of these, 28 are in Tamil Nadu, 16 in West Bengal, seven in Andhra Pradesh.
About a decade ago, a report by the Karnataka Irrigation Department said that changing the direction of sea waves depends on many factors. But the biggest reason for this is the disappearance of greenery on the shores due to increasing industrialization and urbanization on the sea shores. Apart from this, changes in wind direction, tides and flow of rivers are also affecting the sea. Many geographical conditions, such as the presence of many different gulfs formed at the meeting point of many rivers in the sea and frequent changes in the position of the river-mouth are also responsible for the unstable behavior of the sea.
Due to the destruction of the ozone layer and the increase in the amount of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, the temperature of the earth is increasing. Due to this, increasing the level of sea water can also be a factor in this catastrophe. The problem of sea expansion is not limited to rural areas only. Its worst impact is on the metropolitan cities situated on the seashore. As the temperature of the world increases, the water level of the sea will rise and the erosion of the coasts will take a serious form. There is a legal provision that steps should be taken to provide the right environment for the growth of natural trees and plants growing in the sand of the beaches. Mangroves, which stop soil erosion everywhere, have become the city’s garbage houses. All the Khajri trees on the Puri coast were cut down.
In the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the area between 500 meters from the maximum tide in the sea and the area between the low tide has been declared protected. In this, the flow of sea, gulf, river coming to meet it has also been included. The protected area has been declared a restricted area for any construction. The permission of the Union Environment Ministry is necessary for any kind of construction here. In the year 1998, the ministry also constituted the National Beach Area Management Authority and its state units to implement the provisions. But all this is limited to paper only.
(These are the personal views of the author.)
