Central Plan To Protect Altering Shoreline Across AP Seacoast

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Center has identified sensitive coastal areas in the 1,027 km coastline of Andhra Pradesh, where the coastline is changing. Union Earth Sciences minister Dr. It has prepared a Shoreline Management Plan for protection and mitigation of changes, Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Responding to a question from Vizianagaram MP Kalisetti Appalanaidu, Jitendra Singh said that the National Center for Coastal Research (NCCR) has mapped areas of erosion, accumulation and stable coastline of Andhra Pradesh using satellite data from 1990 to 2022. This led to identifying areas prone to erosion and assessing the vulnerability of settlements, infrastructure and coastal communities.

The Union minister said NCCR’s assessment found Kakinada to be the worst affected district and 52.99 per cent of the 119.26 km coastline was under erosion. While only 14.76 percent of the coastline remained stable, 32.25 percent witnessed an increase. Vulnerable places include the mouth of the Godavari River estuary near Yanam, Coringa mangroves and Hope Island.

West Godavari recorded 52.54 percent erosion, followed by Krishna district at 42.71 percent and Srikakulam at 32.14 percent. In contrast, only 3.26 per cent erosion was recorded in Vizianagaram, but over 57 per cent of the coastline experienced deposition.

Jitendra Singh said the government has identified sensitive areas across AP, including Pulicat Lake and Sriharikota in Tirupati district, Machilipatnam Beach in Krishna district and Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district. In the Visakhapatnam region, where 26.85 percent of the coastline is affected by erosion, Yarada and Bheemunipatnam regions were identified as sensitive.

To deal with erosion and deposition, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has prepared a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) for Andhra Pradesh based on site-specific studies. The plan recommended measures such as beach nourishment, dune restoration, ecosystem-based protection and engineering interventions when necessary.

The Union minister said the key remedial recommendations include resilience measures for the Coringa-Uppada coast in Kakinada, coastal protection works in Sriharikota, integrated management of the Krishna delta, inflow management at Vamsadhara and Nagavali river mouths in Srikakulam and resilience planning for the Bheemunipatnam coast in Visakhapatnam.

The study assessed the vulnerability of coastal communities and infrastructure using 2011 Census data, geomorphological studies, and stakeholder input. Fishing villages, ports and ecologically sensitive areas are among the most vulnerable to erosion and its effects, Jitendra Singh said.