Oceanic disaster ahead

The latest findings of the CoastalOcean Monitoring and PredictionSystem (COMAPS) offer us agloomy picture about the health ofthe seas. The COMAPs has identified 25 locations of "hotspots" ofenvironmental pollution, wheremarine life as a whole is facing amajor threat. The analysis of datacollected by COMAPs describesVeraval Port, Hazira, the Tapi estuary, Varsova Creek, Mahim Bayandthe Thane Creek as "areas of highpollution" (AHP).

Madras Harbour, Ennore estuary Vishakhapatnam harbour,Kakinada and Puri have also beengiven the A HP status. But the WestBengal coast, along with Kandla,Bassein Creek, Ratnagiri, MandoviZuari, Cannanore, Calicut andCuddalore have been classified asareas of low pollution.

The department of ocean development (DoD) is according veryhigh priority to cleaning up of theseas, as now their emphasis is onthe polymetallic nodules harvestedfrom the ocean, from which metalslike copper, nickel and cobalt arebeing extracted. Along India's hugecoastline, there are over 350,000industrial units. An estimated120,000 tonne of garbage, chemicaland toxic waste finds its way intothe ocean, endangering oceanicecosystems.

The DoD has taken some stepsto save the ecosystems of the~Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshwadeep,the Minicoy group and other islandsystems in the Indian Ocean, Bay ofBengal and Arabian Sea. TheCentral government is planning toempower the state pollution control boards to take strict actionagainst offending units. But considering the mammoth task in hand,the DoD has been given a pittanceof a budget: only Rs 65.94 crore forthe year 1995-96.