District Collector will visit the premises of the proposed LNG terminal this week in view of the alleged destruction of vast tracks of mangrove belt in the area.
The fishermen community and the locals in the region have been protesting against the alleged systematic destruction of mangroves in the area through the dumping of chemicals and wastes in the area. “A visit will be conducted to inspect the areas where there are complaints about the destruction of mangroves. It will be part of larger visit to the Puthuvype region to look at the displacement of a fisheries-landing centre in the Puthuvype area and similar developments,” said District Collector P I Sheikh Pareeth.
As per the environmentalists and fishermen’s outfits in the area, over the last few years, hazardous chemical wastes generated as the byproduct of the construction works for the LNG terminals had been dumped in the area resulting in the destruction of the mangroves.
“In the first phase they destroyed a lake with a large number of mangroves by dumping the chemical wastes at Puthuvype. In the second stage, as many as 500 acres of thick mangrove forests have been destroyed near the Puthuvype-Vypeen belt near the backwaters. Apart from the wastes dumped from the industries, there has been a large-scale dumping of construction waste, septic waste and domestic waste from the city in the area. The existing rich mangroves are being systematically destroyed here,” said Charles George, district convener, Fisheries Coordination Committee.
The fishermen organisations have been asserting that the destruction of the mangroves was a serious threat to their livelihood since they play a crucial role in the lifecycle and production of fishes and other aquatic creatures including commercial important fishes and shell fish.