Coastal erosion in south Indian states: govt

Studies have indicated that there has been advancement of sea towards the land in south Indian coastal states which has impacted local habitat, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
"The Earth Sciences Ministry monitors the shoreline changes along the Indian coast on an annual basis. Studies indicate various patterns namely, advancement of the sea landwards (erosion), advancement of the land towards sea (accretion) and stable shoreline respectively.
"Such shoreline changes have been observed for Southern Indian coastal states as well, which have impacted the local habitat," Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said in a written reply.
He said that shoreline change and sea level rise are slow phenomena and manifested globally.

As per the erosion maps prepared by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) set up by Environment Ministry, the Kattepura village in Ullal region has undergone significant erosion.
"However, the vulnerable area of this stretch has been protected by seawalls. There is no specific report indicating the number of houses or villages that could be further affected due to coastal erosion in the Ullal region," he added.
The minister pointed out that low-lying areas of the coastal cities likely to be impacted by natural oceanogenic disasters such as tsunamis, storm surges, and high waves are Cuddalore, Pondicherry, Nagapatnam, Tuticorin, Chennai, Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam, Kakinada, Paradeep, Kochi, and Mumbai.

"The government is an active partner in global efforts towards addressing the impact of climate change. Appropriate protection measures arising out of the coastal erosion are addressed jointly by the respective state governments and the Coastal Protection and Development Advisory Committee (CPDAC) of the Central Water Commission," he added.