Mumbai coastline and Thane creek at risk due to reclamation: Vanashakti
The environmental NGO has stated that ongoing reclamation for ambitious coastal road project too is a huge threat to the city's coastline
Citing environmental damage and increased tidewater flooding in and around the city caused due to haphazard reclamation, NGO Vanashakti on Saturday wrote to the chief minister and environment ministers to call for a scientific investigation into the matter. Stalin D, director of Vanashakti has stated that these reclamations are potential threats to Mumbai and Thane creek, making the city of Mumbai vulnerable to coastal flooding.
Stalin said, "My only question is that when we are reclaiming land for projects like coastal road, where is the water in that area going. As more and more reclamation continues, the displaced water is being pushed onto the other landmasses including the Thane creek, threatening it and surrounding areas. There is an urgent need to take concrete steps to avoid loss of life and property due to the sudden rise in levels of seawater ingress. The Thane creek Flamingo sanctuary will be impacted by high levels of tidewater and the nearby human inhabitations can witness severe flooding in the coming monsoon."
Vanashakti has pointed out that ongoing reclamation for ambitious coastal road project too is a huge threat to the city's coastline.
He added, "We have been warning that reclamation for the coastal road project will affect Girgaum Chowpatty and other beaches of Mumbai. Sadly nobody took note of this and the reclamation continued. Last year was an example of what we have been warning about, Girgaum Chowpatty and parts of south Mumbai witness unprecedented flooding. We believe that the increased massive reclamation is causing a shift in the tidal pattern and is displacing large volumes of tidewater."
Even a study released by a research fellow from The Asian Institute of Technology, Malay Kumar Pramanik in February 2021, stated that about 20 per cent of MMR coastline is highly vulnerable to flooding during natural disasters such as cyclonic storms and from a gradual rise in the sea level.