Abandon mini harbour-cum-port project in Puducherry: Water users and farmers’ collective urges govt.

Abandon mini harbour-cum-port project in Puducherry: Water users and farmers’ collective

The Bangaaru Vaickal Neeraadhara Koottamaippu, a water users and farmers’ collective, has urged the Puducherry government to drop the move to revive the mini harbour-cum-port project at Moorthikuppam-Pudukuppam in the Union Territory (UT).

In a letter addressed to Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan, the president of the association V. Chandrasekhar said the Puducherry government had entered into an agreement with IIT, Madras, to a conduct a feasibility study for the creation of a fishing harbour at Moorthikuppam-Pudukuppam in Bahour commune at a cost of ₹93.22 lakh.

“We are completely at a loss to understand why the government is spending huge amounts for a project feasibility study, when already two such proposals — one by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the second by the World Bank — have been rejected. The project is completely unviable and would result in severe environmental damage to the entire coast of Puducherry, including the artisanal fishermen in the area,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.

The proposed project is in complete violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules and will result in irreversible destruction of agricultural lands upstream of the Mullodai channel. No Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had been carried out so far, and the government should not go ahead with the project, he said.

According to the collective, the project would turn out to be disastrous. If the fishing harbour is built at the southern tip of Puducherry’s coast, then the entire stretch of the remaining coastline would be completely eroded, destroying the livelihoods of fishermen living to the north of the proposed harbour. It will completely wipe out all tourism-related development, including the Blue Flag beach at Puducherry and the archaeological site of Arikamedu.

Stating that there was no natural connection between the Mullodai lagoon and the sea, Mr. Chandrasekhar said that cutting open the lagoon to the coast would be a disastrous move. The naturally occurring sand dunes in Nallavadu, Panithittu, Narambai, and Manapet coastal villages will be destroyed, resulting in sea water intrusion into the deep aquifers and thus reaching upstream upto Bahour.

The collective demanded that the government abandon the project with immediate effect. The government should also seek an explanation from the Public Works Department and concerned authorities for “hiding” the facts related to the project, it said.