From 10 feet to 3: Gangapatnam creek in Nellore district loses depth, fishers lose livelihood

People from Gangapatnam, Pallipalem and Komarika villages successful Indukurupeta mandal of SPSR Nellore territory person alleged years of neglect by successive governments and officials implicit a creek that erstwhile sustained the livelihoods of thousands of section fishers.

The creek, located adjacent Varenyanagar betwixt the Buckingham Canal and Mypadu beach, was severely disturbed aft the tsunami struck the Gangapatnam seashore successful 2004, resulting successful dense silt deposition. Its extent has since reduced drastically from astir 10–12 feet to conscionable 3–4 feet.

Stretching on a immense coastline dotted with backwaters and mangroves, the creek is connected to freshwater flows done aggregate canals nether the Jaffar Saheb canal system. This unsocial ecosystem, wherever freshwater meets seawater, people supports a affluent diverseness of marine life.

However, owed to siltation, the creek has go unsuitable for marine taxon to thrive and reproduce. While immoderate members of the sportfishing assemblage person migrated elsewhere successful hunt of livelihood, others person been forced to enactment arsenic labourers successful adjacent shrimp processing units.

Thambu Chinnaiah, erstwhile president of the Marine Fishermen Society of Gangapatnam and Pallipalem, said the country holds immense imaginable for revitalising sportfishing activities, peculiarly for susceptible tribal groups and accepted fisher communities. He stressed the request for a broad survey of the creek and backwaters, followed by mentation of estimates for dredging and desiltation. Restoring the creek to its earthy depth, helium said, would alteration marine taxon to instrumentality and flourish arsenic they did 2 decades ago.

The creek was erstwhile location to a wide assortment of marine species, including achromatic shrimp, tiger prawns, crabs and respective kinds of fish. Desiltation would straight payment fisher families by reviving sportfishing activity, enhancing incomes and improving their prime of life.

Penuballi Krishna Chaitanya, a section nonmigratory and subordinate of the Nellore District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee, said determination is beardown marketplace request for people grown seafood, which is besides valued for its wellness benefits.

At a caller DISHA meeting, Mr. Chaitanya submitted a practice to Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy seeking contiguous dredging and desiltation of the creek to reconstruct its archetypal depth. He besides urged the authorities to place and make the country arsenic a tourer destination.

Located adjacent to Mypadu formation and the Sri Chamundeswari Devi temple astatine Gangapatnam, the country offers scenic views with important tourism potential. Mr. Chaitanya said processing the creek and its surroundings with boating facilities and seafood stalls would boost the section economy.

Speaking to The Hindu, K. Santhi, Joint Director of the Fisheries Department successful Nellore, said nary representations had been received by the section successful the past 5 months regarding dredging oregon desiltation of the creek. She added that if a ceremonial petition is submitted by section residents, the section would guardant a connection to the government.