A request for reclaiming nearly 90 acres of wetland at Kottukal, Thiruvananthapruam, which was “severely inundated” in the 2008 floods, for Vizhinjam seaport project has been declined citing ecological reasons. The company wanted to fill up the area for putting up warehouses and constructing roads to the project site. The reclamation would reduce the water holding capacity of the region by 36 crore litres and lead to shortage of drinking water. The development of the site “can aggravate the future flood impact of the already flood-hit area,” the report cautioned. The government had not acted on the report, said a communication from P. Jayakumari, the State Public Information Officer.

Source: The Hindu December 31, 2019 13:03 UTC