Olive Ridley nests give hope to fishermen at Karnataka's Honnavar beach

Activists and experts on Saturday released photos of Olive Ridley turtle nests across the beach in Honnavar and accused the authorities of suppressing the facts of nesting sites while proposing to build a four-lane road to connect the port in Kasarakod.

The port is coming up on the narrow strip of land that stretches into the sea from the Kasarakod village, where the Sharavathi river meets the Arabian sea. The estuary is known to host over 50 species of fish and the beaches have become nesting sites for the Olive Ridley turtles, considered vulnerable.

The Karnataka Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) is likely to take up the issue of the proposal to construct a four-lane road connecting the Honnavar Port, an entity in which the government has a major stake.

Read | Hare-brained plans for port, road threaten sea turtle nesting grounds

However, those opposing the project say the survey used for the determination of the coastal zonal regulation map was erroneous. Prakash Mesta, a marine biologist based in Karwar and member of Karnataka Biodiversity Board, said the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai, conducted the survey of the area during the non-nesting season.

“Over the last few days, we have found 16 nesting sites and the number is expected to go up. At one site, we found 149 eggs in a single nest. We hope the KSCZA takes note of the positive development and drops the plan to build a four-lane road in a highly sensitive area,” he said.

Another conservationist in Honnavar told DH that more than 60 marine fish depend on the estuary. “The disturbance caused both during the construction activity and the operations pose a direct threat to the marine life. This will in turn hit the livelihood of the thousands of fishermen,” he added.

KCZMA member secretary R Gokul said the authority will take into account the response of all the parties.

“According to the directions of the National Green Tribunal, the authority will look into the questions over the use of the existing road. KCZMA will take a decision on this matter only after looking into concerns raised by all parties. However, with regard to the four-laning, the port authority will have to get its clearance from the national authority at the Centre,” he said.

Fishermen have taken the matter to the NGT seeking a stay on the port project.

However, the government believes the Honnavar Port will have a key role to plaly in the Gati Shakti programme and seeks to build a port with robust connectivity to boost commercial activity.

Rajesh Ishwar Tandel, secretary of Karavali Fishermen Association, said the the port itself was built unscientifically. In a petition to the authority, a copy of which was provided to DH, Tandel said the original port built in 1960 was destroyed by sea erosion in 1980s.

“The road is proposed in Kasarakod and Pavinakurva villages which are highly vulnerable to the sea erosion,” he stated, adding that coastal regulation zone rules bar such activities in highly eroding coast.