Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP)

Udupi, May 30: It is said that the sea does not keep anything in it. Sea returns to the seashore anything that we throw in it. We are destroying the sea in the name of tourism and business just like land mass. Fisheries face the brunt of contamination of the sea.

Coloured water was found on the sea shore at some parts of Udupi recently. Local people said that coloured water appeared on the shore at Beejadi, Kodi and Maravanthe. Oily sludge and micro plastic bits were found to the touch here.

Though it is normal to see oily sludge on the seashore, its quantity was huge this year. It causes itching when touched. The water emits a burnt smell. Some of the people in the ship pay money at the ports and dump ship waste in the middle of the sea without anybody’s knowledge to save money. The trash reaches the seashore during monsoons when the waves turn ferocious.

Used plastic when thrown to the sea, breaks, mixes with oil and reaches the sea shore. The sea was quite rough during the recent Asani cyclone. The waves that carried the trash had reached the shore then. Oily sludge was found at several seashore areas in Udupi district during the period.

Fish and turtles mistake it for food, consume it and perish. Its consumption adversely affects our health. Local people have said that the government should wake up about it.

Sea is the nature’s boon to Karnataka. But we are behind in the maintenance of the sea and the boon may become a curse. Fish becomes lesser and lesser as the years pass by. Modernisation in fishing and catching of fish during the breeding season may cause its destruction. Unwanted trash reaching the sea has become the main reason for its extinction.