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Thread: Save Chilika from Seaplane project

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    Default Save Chilika from Seaplane project

    The Government in its infinite wisdom has decided to allow Seaplane service in the ecologically fragile Chilika lake. So now seaplanes will land and take off from the Chilika waters. It has huge impact on the fragile ecosystem. The birds, vegetation, invertebrates and other micro organisms as well as fish are intricately linked in a complex web of ecological interrelationships. Seaplane service will disrupt that and have a huge impact. We have covered it in our IndiaWilds August 2018 issue. https://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-10-issue-viii/


    We are directly raising our voice on behalf of IndiaWilds members and readers. Please spread the message as well as raise your voice. Tweets, emails directly to the ministers as well as spreading the word in social media will be of help. The Government will only listen if they feel that they are inundated with messages from many people. Please take action and keep us in cc or in tweets so that we can do followups.

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    FIFTY YEARS back on 1 April 1968, The Sunday Statesman, Kolkata published an article titled 'Unlicensed Massacre at Chilka Lake' written by the Nature's Spokesman M. Krishnan.

    Fifty YEARS later, licensed massacre has been proposed for comfort of a few rich and powerful. We have to resist it, first through approaching government and if need be, through our Justice system thereafter.

    SaktiWild

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    The Chilika Development Authority has now written a letter to the State Government voicing its dissent to the project. They have pointed out that legally under the Wetland Conservation and Management Rules 2017 conversion for non-wetland use is not permitted. It will also impact the birds, fish productivity and the 2 lakh fishermen. 14000 tons of fish is caught in Chilika every year. Their letter to State Government states "The Irrawady dolphins are highly sensitive to sound and their breeding may suffer due to high decibel sound due to seaplanes. Besides, the operational and airworthiness requirements for seaplane operation issued by the DGCA (directorate general of civil aviation) stipulates that the floating platform will not be selected in fishing grounds due to bird hazards. With one million birds congregating in the lake, there will be serous bird hazards for the operation of the sea planes as they (birds) are likely to be sucked to their engines, threatening the life of the passengers"

    https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...1MNjU9uwK.html

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    The Seaplane project is off. Thank God. The Government of Odisha has decided to listen to sane voices including that from Chilika Development Authority which is the nodal agency responsible for conservation of the wetlands.

    The following text is from Telegraph:
    "The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has cancelled the seaplane project in Chilika due to Odisha Govt.’s objections. AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said: "Following a request from the state government through videoconferencing to cancel the project as it would affect Chilika's ecology, we have cancelled the project."
    AAI has also made clear its desire to develop the project in Odisha if the government provides it with an alternative site.
    AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said: "Following a request from the state government through videoconferencing to cancel the project as it would affect Chilika's ecology, we have cancelled the project."
    Making it clear that the AAI wants development of the state, Mohapatra said: "If the state government gives any proposal to develop a water aerodrome in the state, we will provide them all help. However, they have to submit the proposal within three weeks."
    In June, the AAI had announced to set up aerodrome projects in Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Assam. Chilika in Odisha was the preferred site. The civil aviation ministry had given its nod to the Chilika proposal.
    In a letter to chief secretary A.P. Padhi, the AAI chairman had said: "The Airports Authority of India plans to set up water aerodromes. For starting amphibious aircraft operation in Odisha, Bhubaneswar airport and Chilika lake have been shortlisted for a pre-feasibility study. The government will identify the site in Chilika." Odisha initially had not objected to the proposal. A team of experts from the Centre had visited the area and conducted a study. Subsequently, environmentalists and the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) raised objections .
    In a letter to the state government, chief executive, CDA, Sushanta Nanda had said: "Operation of seaplane and water aerodrome at Chilika, the world's second largest brackish water lake, is likely to cause irrevocable damage to the ecosystem and livelihood of people dependent on it. The cost involved in the operation of seaplane seems to outweigh the benefits likely to accrue from it. Besides, legally the project is not feasible."
    The operation of the aerodrome at any given location in the lake will have far reaching adverse consequences on its fragile ecosystem, the CDA maintained.
    He had also said: "The legal provisions under Wetland Conservation and Management Rule, 2017, are applicable to the internationally acclaimed Chilika wetland site. The rules strictly prohibit its conversion for non-wetland use. Construction of aerodrome is therefore not legally permissible as Chilika is a wetland site."
    The CDA maintained: "With one million birds congregating in the lake, the operation of seaplanes will be hazardous to winged species as they will either be sucked in the engines or be hit by the planes during its landing. The possibility of bird hit will also pose a threat to air travellers."
    The lake is home to 230 bird species, of which 97 are intercontinental migrants from Arctic and Eurasian regions.
    The CDA had cited that noise from the flights would distract the Irrawady dolphins, an endangered species found in the lake. BJD leader from Chilika area and Brahmagiri MLA Sanjay Das Burma and Khurda MLA Rajendra Sahu had objected to the proposal." The Telegraph article is here: https://www.telegraphindia.com/state...chilika-258134


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    Let's hope that good sense prevail in the heads of these megalomaniacs.

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