In the backdrop of increased shoreline erosion in Visakhapatnam, the Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday constituted a committee to combat the distressing phenomenon.
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents or high winds. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has asked the committee to come up with immediate steps and long-term solutions to arrest coastal erosion.
The Chief Minister appointed Visakhapatnam Port Trust chairman Krishna Babu as the Coordinator of this committee while National Institute of Ocean Technology, National Institute of Oceanography, APSRAC, Andhra University, IIT Chennai and various ports will be part of this committee.
Experts in Oceanography informed the Chief Minister that erosion has been taking place at an unprecedented rate in the last one year and that the coming 20-30 years would witness drastic changes.
Keeping this in view, the Chief Minister directed officials to monitor the changes continuously and come up with effective solutions.
He added that DELFT University in Netherlands is one such institution that is carrying out a study on coastal erosion. “We could bring in experts from the University and work with them to combat beach erosion,” he added.
The Chief Minister ordered officials to work on strengthening beach boundaries from Rushikonda to Visakhapatnam city.
Experts told the Chief Minister that at 172 sites along the coast between Kerala and Kolkata, erosion is taking place at a dangerous rate. While some places are witnessing heavy erosion, some are witnessing heavy deposits of sand, they said.
Visakhapatnam MP K. Hari Babu told the Chief Minister that the gap between the coast and the sea was earlier 200 metres. However, this has now dropped to 50 metres, causing severe erosion.
The Chief Minister said that officials should instill confidence among people who seemed to have suffered a double whammy due to Cyclone Hudhud and coastal erosion.
Quoting the example of Singapore, the Chief Minister said “The city-state has been successful in reclaiming land from sea but we are unable to protect our natural sea coast.”
Ministers Ayanna Patrudu, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, district collector Yuvraj, port executives, scientists and others were present at the meeting. (INN)