06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Pulicat Lake
and lagoons. which form the nursery ground for
them to feed and grow. Chaco et at (1953) have
reported that the mouth of this lake gets closed
every five years. But due to frequent failure of
monsoon in this area the closure of mouth became
almost an annual feature. Invariably closure took
place around pre monsoon period (June/July) and
lasted till the outbreak of monsoon (November/
December).
Silt brought by river Kalangi on the mid-western
side does the greatest damage of all to the bottom
vegetation. oyster beds. and aquatic life like
worms. juvenile prawns and crabs. Siltation by the
river Arni in 'the south impedes navigation for
transport of fuel wood and shells in the
Buckingham canal and hence handicaps fishing.
Siltation of the iake in general leads to spread
over of floodwaters on to the villages around the
margins of the lake. Great volumes of silt from the
River Swarnamukhi have been filling up the
northern regions of the lake forming extensive
marshes and mud flats that attract a variety of
water birds to feed. Caratini (1994) projects that
with this current rate of silting through various
processes and the current average depth of the
lake (which is less than meter). it could get filled
up totally before the end of this century leading to
its ecological death.
ii. Anthropogenic
The extensive deforestation. sand mmmg in
riverbeds results in topsoil erosion along the
watersheds and riverbeds. is drifting the topsoil as
silt into the waterways. Road across the northern
sector of Pulicat Lake. from Sulurpet to
Sriharikota Rocket Launching Station (SHAR) is
an obstruction for the free flow of water to
northern regions which is promoting more siltation
in the north. The road should have been a culvert
with wide-open waterways.
The 630 MW NCTPS set up by the Tamil Nadu
Electricity Board (TNEB) draws 44 lakh liters of
fresh water from the Ennore Creek and lets out
hot coolant water into the Buckingham Canal and
discharges toxic fly ash. in the form of slurry into
lagoon system. Despite precipitators and chemical
filters. the fly ash contains toxic elements such as
arsenic. cadmium. mercury. lead. manganese.
fluoride. and beryllium (Rajathy and Azariala.
1996). Fly ash is especially harmful as it can be
inhaled and can lead to permanent respiratory
disorders. dermatitis. and cancer. The silica in fly
ash could cause silicosis. Increased temperature
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accelerates the metabolic activity of organisms
and reducing the solubility of oxygen in water.
This leads to oxygen depletion and results in the
death of aquatic life.
The Ennore Satellite Port. a sheltered harbor
facility further compounds the problem. It handles
about 16.12 tones of coal. which is the daily
requirement for the NCTPS and thermal power
station at Ennore and Mettur. Over 440 hectares
have been acquired for the port. which has been
hailed as a corporate port. The first phase of its
work consists of the construction of a coal jetty.
wharf and an entrance channel and related
dredging operations. The main construction work
includes two berths for handling coal vessels up to
65000 dead weight tonnage (DWT)dredging for the
approach basin. onshore civil works. navigational
aids and two breakwaters. 13 million meters of soil
is to be dredged for a 16-meter deep access
channel. The construction of the breakwaters has
caused ingression of the sea to 50 meters into the
mainland that separates the Pulicat lagoon system
and the sea. This. the sea erosion has affected
nearby hamlets. which is home to over 20000
strong fishing communities. The sea erosion
caused by port construction has led to dramatic
fall in fish catch. Tiger prawn. mud crabs. tread
finfish and bhetki. which were found in plenty.
have become scarce. Pulicat lagoon system ought
to carry .about 10000tonnes of seafood now carries
hardly 5 percent of its capacity (Sanjeevaraj.
2000).
The second major problem is the Tamil Nadu
Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO)in its
newfound role as a facilitator of industrial parks.
is acquiring 2900 hectares for the proposed
petrochemical park. This will include 600 hectares
for constructing additional berths at the Ennore
Satellite port to serve the units set up at the park
(Frontline. 2000). This park extends across
Kattupalli panchayat which is bound by the Bay of
Bengal in the East. the Buckingham Canal in the
West. the Pulicat lagoon in the north and the
Ennore Creek in the south. The fishermen of this
panchayat are facing livelihood problems because
of the acute fish depletion within 10 meters of the
shoreline. For instance before the satellite port
and NCTPS came up they would sell their catch at
a market which was just 8 km away. now they
have to travel 20 km to reach the market affects
the freshness of the catch and in turn its selling
price (Sanjeevaraj. 1999).