Kerala Congress MP asks govt to prepare coastal protection plan

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani on Thursday asked the government to undertake a comprehensive scientific study on the erosion of the country's coastal line and formulate a coastal protection plan.

During Zero Hour mention, the Kerala Congress (M) MP raised concerns over coastal erosion along shores of Kerala, saying "It is a matter of grave concern that requires immediate attention." Coastal erosion poses a threat not only to the environment but also to the livelihood of coastal communities, he added.

India has a 7,560 km long coastline of which Kerala has a 590 km stretch "According to the study by the National Centre for Coastal Research, 33.6 per cent of the Indian coastal line is vulnerable to erosion and nearly 46 per cent of Kerala coastline is already affected," he said.

These statistics, he added should not be viewed as a mere number, but warning of the impending crisis in the state and nation, Mani added.

He further said the coastal erosion is due to various factors such as climate change, unregulated human activities, inadequate Coastal Zone Management, mining and tourism.

Coastal erosion is rendering Kerala fishermen families refugees in their own lands, he added.

"I implore the government to initiate a comprehensive coastal protection plan that leverages the latest scientific and technical advancements," he said while asking the government to set aside sufficient funds for coastal protection projects, community development initiatives and research programmes.

There is a pressing need for a comprehensive scientific study into the issue of coastal erosion along the Indian coast, he added.

Other MPs also raised various issues.

Prashanta Nanda (BJD) cited the death of a 38-year-old man on board a Rajdhani train due to medical reasons and suggested that long haul trains should have a coach with ICU, ventilator and oxygen facilities.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan spoke about the bad influence of movies and songs depicting violence and negative roles portrayed by heroes.

Vivek K Tankha raised the issue of shortage of emergency beds in AIIMS and demanded that they should be increased.

Kanimozhi NVN Somu of the DMK raised concern over the menace of spam calls despite regulation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

"There is a pressing need to have a preventive framework other than just filing complaints through the TRAI," she said.

She demanded that the telecom department take immediate action to curb unsolicited calls and SMS in spite of TRAI regulations, or DND (do not disturb) registration.

L Hanumanthaiah of the Congress raised the issue of rising incidents of atrocities on Dalits, especially women, and cited data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on such cases. PTI