Summary
According to the 1995 Port Policy issued
by the Gujarat State Government (India), the Gujarat
Maritime Board intends to build ports at various
locations in the state including Dahej, Hazira and Maroli.
There is particular concern about "Maroli" as
within this are the villages of Sarando, Nargol,
Umbergaon and Dehri. Since State Governments are not
allowed apparently to build megaports, there is genuine
fear that the decision was taken to build this port in
the guise of a minor port. The need for a port in the
area is doubtful because there are already existing mega-ports
further to the south namely, Bombay and JNPT and in
Saurashtra, the port of Kandla, which will lose business
as cargo will be diverted to this proposed new port in
Umbergaon Taluka (local language for district), the
southernmost part of the State of Gujarat. Although the
Government of Gujarat has supposedly signed a contract
with a port developer, people of Gujarat are firmly
against allowing the project to proceed any further
because the details of the project and the inherent
potential environmental damage have been hidden from the
residents of Umbergaon Taluka.
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Background
A couple of years ago, the villagers in
Umargam taluka, Gujarat State, India, questioned some
people surveying the coastline and learned that the
Gujarat Government was planning to build, at Maroli, one
or two jetties for the fishermen's boats. These jetties
would be linked with a railway line, connecting Maroli to
Bhilad so that the fishermen could quickly unload their
fish and put them in ice in the train for the big cities.
There was no mention of building a general cargo port. At
the end of February 1999, when the villagers suddenly
became aware that a megaport was being planned in this
taluka. Local people are firmly opposed to the port
project proceeding for the following reasons:
(1) Upgrading of existing ports more economical:
Indian ports handled around 251 million tonnes for the
year ended March 31, 1999. The projection for the year
2000-2006 is approximately 306 to 500 million tonnes. It
is believed that the existing ports can cope with the
needs adequately. Provision of additional facilities and
upgrading the present ports will increase the cargo
handling efficiency of these ports, thereby nullifying
the need for a new port. Extra berths for ships can be
provided in these ports which then can handle enough
cargo. This will protect other places from becoming
polluted like other port areas. Development of existing
ports will save a lot of valuable time and money, while
funds should be diverted to schemes for providing
sophisticated infrastructure to the existing ports,
instead of destroying pristine beaches in rural areas.
(2) Anti-social elements:
Port area in India invariable provide a conducive
environment for anti-social elements. The vandalism and
crowding will destroy the very fabric of the villages.
Till today, the taluka enjoys serene surroundings which
the proposed port threatens to spoil.
(3) Massive lost of coastal land and trees:
According to confidential sources, there were detailed
studies within various locations in the taluka and that
the final precise location has not been finalized. These
are: a) Phansa, b) Maroli, c) Tadgam, d) Sarendo, e)
Nargol, f) Umargam, g) Dehri. The most likely location
will be inside the creek, which lies north of Umargam
village and south of Nargol village. Since the sea in
front of the taluka is very shallow and the massive ships
which would use the port may be up to a maximum around
200,000 tons - but averaging 80,000 tonnes - enormous
dredging would have to be done; 20 meters deep channels
will have to be made in waters that in low tide are not
even half a meter deep. 9 jetties are planned to be
built, though to try and get the plan cleared by the
Central Government to get it officially classified as a
minor port, only 1 or 2 jetties may be built initially.
However, there is a fear that, once having been
established, the plan to expand to a megaport will begin.
The big ships, which carry huge amounts of cargo, require
2 sq. kms. of land for all the supporting infrastructure;
mainly loading and unloading areas with huge cranes, (each
crane being maybe the height of a 15 storey building),
massive godowns, warehouses, railway siding, platforms,
truck parking areas, canteens, administrative offices etc.
To build 9 jetties, 18 sq. kms. Of beautiful coastal land
with hundreds of thousands of trees and marshy lands
being flattened, leveled out and concretized. Eventually
in the 3rd phase of expansion, the plan is to have a
total of 38 jetties, which means land occupation of
around 76 sq. kms.
(4) Threats to livelihood:
Once the port is established between 100 to 250 sq. kms.
of the sea area of this port will be declared a zone
"Prohibited For Fishing" because big ships will
be moving in and out of this area day and night.
Anticipating the opposition from fishermen's groups
because of this, oral assurances are being given that
fishermen will be provided separate jetties and separate
channels so that their livelihood will not suffer and
initially indeed, local groups believe this could well
happen. However, once the expansion starts, it believed
that fishermen will be prohibited from working.
(5) Fisheries experts point out that the
Bay of Khambat is low in salinity that makes it suitable
for faster breeding of old and new varieties of many
marine species. If a port was to be built here, then the
ships coming in and out of the ports will destroy the
habitat of these marine species. Hence the country will
be deprived of precious marine wealth.
Besides, the studies conducted in Kerala and Tamil Nadu
states have showed that the process of siltation and
erosion occurring in the oceans, due to breakwaters being
made for ports, prove to be fatal. At places of siltation
the beaches go shallow and fishermen cannot move in and
out of the sea conveniently. On the south side of
breakwaters the erosion results in washing away of
beaches and proves to be disastrous for those living near
the coast. Even without the massive breakwaters planned
for Maroli-Umbergaon, erosion is already rapid and
significant. As such the damage to the beaches and
coastlines will be tremendously more when the breakwaters
are built. In the 3rd phase, the barriers blocking the
sea will extend 16 km. out to sea.
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