Recently, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Jairam Gadkari revealed that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has prepared a report for construction of a Marine Drive National Highway along the sea coast of Bay of Bengal right from Gopalpur to Digha over a distance of 500 km.
The marine highway will join the coastal highways of Andhra Pradesh in south and highways of West Bengal in east. This will be absolutely a commercial transport system to join south India with east India for various such reasons. An estimated amount of Rs 5,000 crore will be spent in the mega project. A 4-km long bridge will be built over the Chilika lagoon, which will be the longest bridge of Odisha after the Mahanadi bridge. And the bridge over Chilika will work as an observatory point to observe the scenic beauties of Chilika biosphere besides attracting tourists to Odisha.
Gadkari opined that the economic status of all coastal States will rise fast, when such project will be completed. To work out the project, there are 12 rivers, such as Prachi, Satpada, Devi, Mahanadi, Hansua, Brahmani, Baitarani, Mantei, Budha Bdanga, Panchpada, Dubadubi and Subarnarekha, which will be bridged to give final shape to the coastal national highway.
The entire 500-km coastal roadway is divided into two divisional projects. One from Chhatrapur to Ratanapur covering a distance of 260 km and the second is from Ratanapur to Digha covering a distance of 240 km. When this mega project will be completed, the commercial activities of Paradip Port will be doubled being connected with other seaports of the country by land and sea.
The entire water spread area of Chilika is maximum 1,165 sqkm and minimum 740 sqkm. Similarly, its maximum length is 64-30 km, maximum breadth 18 km and minimum breadth 5 km. But the core area, which mostly covers 15.53 sqkm consisting of one kind of reed, scientifically called Phragmmites Karka, forms weeds and other aquatic vegetations. It is known as the Nalavana Sanctuary, which is also a winter home of lakhs of migrant birds. The biosphere is unique.
When the eastern boundary of the lagoon is formed by the Bay of Bengal, the western is formed by rocky hills of Eastern Ghat.
Similarly, when the northern boundary is formed by alluvial plains of the Mahanadi delta, the southern boundary is covered by rocky hills of the Eastern Ghat. The Chilika lake is a gift of both Eastern Ghat hills and the Bay of Bengal. It is quite unique that 52 rivers and rivulets are draining into the lake, mostly mothered by the Eastern Ghat region. There is a sand bar having length of 60 km with a width varying from 0.6 km to 2 km. Similarly, the total area of island is 223 sqkm. The lake mouth directly connects to the Bay of Bengal with the lagoon or lake. The biodiversities of the lagoon entirely depend on the mouth of the lagoon, when this opening controls the grade of salinity of the entire biosphere of Chilika. The outer sector of the lagoon is prone to economic exploitation. The northeast sector gives life to the lagoon when all the water courses of Eastern Ghat region feed the lagoon and maintain the dignity of the salt percentage of lagoon water in varying climatic situations. The north western side is more polluted for rising cultivations and other excessive the human activities, including un-restricted use of pesticides for agricultural and piscicultural activities. The south western side of the lagoon is unusually narrower.
Chilika is recognized in international level for its unique biodiversities of flora and fauna. There are 43 species of phytoplankton flora and 22 species of algal communities, including 150 species of vascular plants. These floral communities are the main source of organic feeds of varieties. The Chilika is now most vulnerable and sensitive ecological system.
If a 4-km long national highway -cum-bridge will be constructed over the lake, it will have an adverse impact on natural functions and evolutionary process of nature in entire biosphere of the lagoon.
Hence, the project is not ecologically sound and desirable. There will be destructive proactive sand functions for whole of Chilika estuarine lagoon. It is not known so far on which sector of Chilika the road-cum-bridge will pass on. But then, each ecological sector of Chilika is vulnerable and very important from conservation point of view, which cannot be overlooked for commercial reasons.
The nature’s activities and rules should always be respected. In the name of tourism or commerce, we should not tamper with and destroy the ecological process of the nature. The outcome of such undue practices will bring upon climatic hazards. Man is a member of the biosphere like other animals, birds and plants. But man is unilaterally doing everything without giving any scope to others to live and to continue their race. As a result, there are lots of species vanishing from the earth due to harmful practices by man. If at all Gadkari’s plan materializes and the project comes up, Chilika will face constant air, water, soil and sound pollutions; which will directly affect the harmonious ecological activities of the nature. As a result, the habits and habitats of innumerable flora and fauna of this lagoon will be at stake.
The writer quite remembers that during the tenure of late Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister in the eighties, the Government of India wanted to start a Naval base in Chilika but a few prominent ecologists of the country requested fervently to Gandhi not to go ahead with the project which they opined would be detrimental to the ecological systems of estuarine wetland of Chilika. Gandhi acquiesced and the Naval activities were stopped.
If at all we need a marine-drive-cum highway, this can be done well around the boundaries of Chilika. While the alignment of such road is taken up, the people’s opinion of the localities should be honoured first.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)