Beaches or dumping grounds?

Following the setting up of the Seabird Naval Base, some beaches became inaccessible to tourists. But, even the handful of beaches that tourists have access to, have transformed beyond recognition. Most of the beaches have become dumpyards.

Though there is a lot of talk about cleaning up the beaches, the efforts of the local administration and the district authorities have gone in vain.

Take the case of the Aligadda beach adjacent to the Baithkol harbour. It was one of the most beautiful beaches in the region, till no so long ago.

The beach attracted hordes of tourists and localites. Not too long ago, the sight of colourful boats anchored here in rows was picture postcard-perfect. What stands in their place are rusting boats, with the colours having worn off long time back.

The 500-metre-long Aligadda beach once attracted a lot of boating and swimming enthusiasts. Today, the entire length of the beach is a large junkyard. Also, the waves are in colours of red and black. This is because of the heaps of manganese and iron ore that were once stacked towards one end of the beach.

The waters of the Arabian Sea still have remnants of red and black iron ore, though the hoarding by the beach has been put to an end. You can still spot deposits of red ore in the crevices of the rocks.

Neither the Department of Fisheries nor the Department of Ports has paid attention to this problem. The CMC and the Tourism Department have also been indifferent to the issue.