Bhubaneswar: Objecting to the proposed airplane service in Chilika Lake, activist and former chairman of Utkal Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Prahallad Sinha, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the proposal and suggested alternative sites for water aerodrome plan.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sinha said the proposal of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to establish water aerodrome in Chilika Lake in order to facilitate sea plane service would affect the bio-diversity of Chilika Lake, considered as the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and declared a Ramsar Site.
Connected with Bay of Bengal, the lake has also at least 13 tributaries and average water spread area of 1,055 sq km, he said. The lake covers an area of about 1,165 sq km in the rainy season and 965 sq km during summer.
From anthropological study it is ascertained that age of Chilika Lake is more than 13,000 years. There are at least 125 villages and 10 large towns spreading over three districts of Odisha – Puri, Khurda and Ganjam.
The lake is also famous for migratory birds from far off places of Siberia. The winged guests visit the lagoon every year much to the delight of the tourists. The proposed water aerodrome and so called sea plane service, Sinha said, will disturb the birds.
Around two lakh families are also dependent on Chilika. Thousands of boats are engaged in the lake for fishing activities. The proposed water aerodrome will adversely affect fishing in the lake and thousands of boatmen engaged in tourist services will also lose their bread and butter.
The project, if implemented, will have a major impact on the life of the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins.
Sinha urged the PM to look into this sensitive issue personally.
As an alternative, a water aerodrome may be established either at Hirakud, Mundali or Naraj on Mahanadi or any other suitable place other than Chilika Lagoon, in consultation with the state government, he suggested.