Visakhapatnam: Many turtles are dead on the sea coast from Visakhapatnam to Kakinada. The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board is in deep sleep and governments are the reason.
A fisherman, Vasupalli Nookaraju, has taken a video of these dead turtles and sent it to us. He has done observation at the field level.
On the way from Visakhapatnam to Kakinada, turtles are dying in two places in the sea and floating on the water.
A 52-year-old swimmer from Kakinada, Goli Shyamala, who recently swam 150 kilometres in the Bay of Bengal from Vizag to Kakinada shared her pleasant experiences of the turtles that swam along with her. But her happiness turned into grief when she noticed several turtles dead and floating in the sea due to the pollution in two places.
She broke down before media persons at the death of these turtles and pleaded with the Government to do something to save the lives of the turtles. She was another person who observed at the field level the deaths of these turtles.
I wish to bring to the attention of the Andhra Pradesh Government the let-go attitude of the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board. I have been fighting against the pollution of Water, Soil, Sea and Air for more than a decade now and am also a petitioner along with renowned water expert Dr Rajendra Singh, in a 2020 case in the High Court on pollution with pieces of evidence on how untreated sewage and industrial effluents are causing irreparable damage to the marine biodiversity and also putting 20,000 fishermen’s livelihood at stake. However, even after 7 months of our coalition government in Andhra Pradesh, the affidavit has not been issued explaining what we do to prevent such pollution in the ground, river, ocean, and air.
Now we have added the videos from the fisherman Vasupalli Nookaraju, and the swimmer Goli Shyamala, as two key shreds of evidence of how industrial effluents are killing turtles. The video captured by Vasupalli Nookaraju a fisherman shows more than a dozen dead turtles on the beach close to a drugs plant in Payakaraopet, Visakhapatnam district.
We need to consider whether persons like Shyamala and Nookaraju can be appointed as observers at the field level for pollution control. I have requested Andhra Pradesh Environment Minister Pawan Kalyan to appoint people like Vasupalli Nookaraju and Goli Shyamala as Observers to report to the Govt of the pollution so that remedial measures can be taken to mitigate the pollution
*Bolisetty Satyanarayana is the General Secretary, Environment, of the Janasena Party in Andhra Pradesh, and the National Convenor of a water community, Jalbiradari.
