Coastal turtle-nesting site in danger

KANYAKUMARI: Environmentalists and villagers of Pannaiyoor in Rajakkamangalam panchayat are demanding the protection of a vital turtle nesting site on the coast here, after a fishing harbour was proposed in the area.
The 600-ft long and 100-ft high dune in Rajakkamangalam is one of the last sand dunes left in the area. For many years, it was a key turtle breeding ground. R S Lalmohan of Conservation of Nature Trust said the state costal zone management authority and district forest department had given the nod for the harbour project, hiding the fact that the sand dune acted as an important turtle-nesting site. A four-member committee formed by state coastal zone management authority in 2013 gave a fraudulent report stating that it was only a heap of sand, he said.

"Against their own (present) statement on turtle nesting, in 2014, forest officials set up a turtle hatchery in this sand dune and collected eggs from the coast," he alleged. He has approached the ministry of environment and forest on this matter and a team from the ministry's regional office in Chennai was here to inspect the sand dune on Saturday.

Irked by the committee report, Pannaiyoor villagers formed a forum called Pannaiyoor Citizen Welfare Trust and approached the court. According to them, a stream divides Pannaiyoor and Rajakkamangalam Thurai coastal villages and a government order on constructing a fishing harbour was issued in 2005. "Till 2008, we did not know that harbour was going to be built on the sand dune which has been shielding us from high tides," said T Sriranganathan, a villager from Pannaiyoor. When Tsunami struck the coast in 2004, the sand dune acted as a barrier and villages in the stretch were spared the fury of the waves, they recalled. "We are fighting the project since 2008 and neighbouring villagers like Ottathangamvilai and Murungavilai are with us in this regard," he added. However, one section of fisher folk at Rajakkamangalamthurai are said to be favouring the project.

Though the hatchery was not set up at Rajakkamangalam coast this year, forest sources said they had collected good number of eggs from the region recently. Since the issue is pending with the ministry, forest officials declined to comment.