This post of mine is prompted by a post by Shri B. R. P. Bhaskar (link here) throwing light on the concerted campaign by 'Greenpeace' to save the turtles which are threatened by Tata’s port project works at Dhamra, Orissa.
The Hindu (May 27, 2008) reports..
Despite assurances by the Tatas that an 'independent' assessment will be done, not only that the study has not been commissioned yet, it is that the project is progressing at a quick pace as well. This is something totally unacceptable..
The Hindu (May 27, 2008) reports..
The project has received all statutory clearances including the environment clearance from the Government of India and the No objection certificate from the Pollution Control Board of the state. This clearance has been challenged before the National Environment Appellate Authority on certain grounds including its effect on the endangered olive ridley turtles for which the Orissa coast is the largest nesting site in the world. Speaking to The Hindu, Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace said, “There are concerns regarding the loss of turtles during the dredging process and also the impact the lighting in the port will have on the turtles. Also, with other industries that will subsequently come up in the region, will no doubt have an impact on the turtles.” It is estimated that only one in a hundred turtle hatchlings survive anyway.Greenpeace press release dated May 31, 2007 reads as follows..
The Dhamra port will be located in an ecologically sensitive area, 5 km. from the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary and less than 15 km. from the Gahirmatha nesting beaches, the world’s largest mass nesting site for Olive Ridley turtles. Given the sensitive nature of the location, it is essential that the EIA be scientifically credible, accurate, detailed and unbiased, but Greenpeace has found that it fails on all these fronts.
“This EIA is a totally inadequate tool when it comes to gauging the port’s environmental impacts,” said Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace. “The main flaws relate to poor baseline ecological data, a complete omission of the impacts on turtles, impacts of noise and chemical pollution and a poor hazard analysis and emergency plan. To top it all, the EIA considers a port site that is completely different from the one currently being developed!”This is yet another report from Business Standard..
Despite assurances by the Tatas that an 'independent' assessment will be done, not only that the study has not been commissioned yet, it is that the project is progressing at a quick pace as well. This is something totally unacceptable..
14 comments:
Thanks, Hari, for adding your voice to the Greenpeace campaign to save the turtles threatened by the Tata project,
the only thing i honestly see threatened is greenpeace reputation after whats happened
Here’s a funny video I got from one of my friend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uCWK9ube1k
Recently came across exciting news about Record Mass Nesting of Olive Ridley turtles in Gahirmatha beach this year inspite of Dhamra Port construction…
Annual rendezvous of Olive Ridley TurtlesMass Turtles Nesting in Gahirmatha Beach in 2009
According to Greenpeace, Dhamra port project will directly affect the Olive Ridley turtles, their mating, nesting etc. however found this video (Greenpeace Lie - Olive Ridley Nesting Video at Gahirmatha Beach) worth sharing. Even after huge Greenpeace propaganda, turtles came back for nesting at Gahirmatha beach, which is located near Dhamra port project.
Like to share few more stories:
Olive Ridley Turtles Begin Early Nesting in OrissaOlive Ridley turtles hatchlings emerge from sandy pitsI think Greenpeace problem lies here: "After all, Tata has grown from a national giant into an international player"
It has come to our notice that Greenpeace India have placed in their website a report under the title "Bio-diversity Assessment of Dhamra Port Site and Surroundings Areas, Orissa". The cover page of the report says that the report has been prepared by the North Orissa University. We would like to clarify that no report under the above mentioned title has been prepared by the North Orissa Unversity.
North Orissa University had prepared a report under the title "Rapid Bo-diversity Assessment of Dhamra Estuary, Orissa-India" and the same was submitted to Greenpeace India who were the funding agency.
A comparison of the report as it appears in the website of Greenpeace India and the authentic report of North Orissa University reveals that the Greenpeace India have doctored the authentic report by way of changing the title and its contents for motives best known to them.
We wish to further clarify that the impact of Dhamra Port on the environment and bio-diversity of Dhamra Estuary was not within the scope of our study.
For the sake of convenience we are enclosing herewith a copy of the authentic report of the University and the report as placed by the Greenpeace India in their website along with a comparison in a tabular form which would clearly indicate the changes/deletions/additions and interpolations made by Greenpeace India.
To conclude we take serious exception to such unethical conduct by Greenpeace India.
Sd/-
Prof. Sudarsan Nanda,
Vice Chancellor,
North Orissa University"
HI the above message is a press release from "Press Release from North orissa University"
Hi,
We have just added your latest post "Save Turtle Project by Greenpeace against the Tatas" to our Directory of Environment . You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory for getting a huge base of visitors to your website and gaining a valuable backlink to your site.
Warm Regards
greenatmos.com Team
http://www.greenatmos.com
Know more about Dhamra Port Project
Light and lighting are crucial for any industrial project, both during construction and the operational phase. IUCN lighting experts and DPCL are also taking care of implementing lighting safeguards, which would also be turtle safe lighting and would be low pressure sodium vapor lights which have been proven by research to be the least disorienting to turtle hatchlings.
Source: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=296928&id=168851070709
"Expressing anguish over the Green Peace movement's single point agenda on stopping work on Dhamra Port project in Orissa, Tata Steel Chairman Ratan Tata reiterated that the company would in no way take up any project hazardous to Olive Ridley Turtles"
Mr Ratan Tata Chairman of TATA Steel to Greenpeace activists: "I invite you for a discussion and a visit to the port site in Dhamra."
Tata proved that Tata was always willing to have a best solution for country's industrial & economical development and they were always ready for solutions.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/08/29/MTA5MDgw/TATA_Steel_invites_Greenpeace_activists_for_talks_on_Dhamra_Port.html
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/661058/Business/4/20/4
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-100917.html
Greenpeace, the professed global environment campaign organization, in an instance of unmatched brazenness, falsified the report prepared by North Orissa University on Biodiversity Assessment of Dhamra Estuary. As a result, a group of forty MPs wrote to the Ministry Of Environment and Forests to call on the bluff of Greenpeace. The Orissa Govt. therefore initiated action against Greenpeace proposing a ban on all its activities in the state.
However, after the 102nd Annual General Meeting of Tata Steel in Mumbai, Greenpeace unabashedly has started their tricks once again. This time it has managed to rope in Retd Admiral Ramdas and his wife Mrs. Lalita Ramdas on the issue of Dhamra port but as far as scientific reasoning goes, the issues raised are totally unfounded. We can just hope that the visit of the Ramdas’ to the site will help to stop meaningless agitations and clear the situation once and for all.
Tata Steel has always maintained a strong focus on environment sustainability and environment management in all its operations. We have seen that in the issues regarding the construction of a deep-sea port at Dhamra in Orissa, the Company has been forthcoming in sharing the concerns of activists and ever willing to implement practical means of mitigating any adverse impact of port construction on the marine eco-system in that area. The Company has held at least eight to nine sessions of meetings with Greenpeace and other environmental organizations in the matter of Dhamra Port. Tata Steel has made it abundantly clear that it is willing to have further discussions in order to alleviate any unnecessary doubts that the dissenters may yet nurture against the project.
Here is an outline of events as they happened till date.
The JV agreement with L&T to build a port at Dhamra was signed by Tata Steel in 2004. At the very onset, discussions were initiated with WWF- India, BNHS, Mr Kartik Shankar, Mr Bittu Sehagal and others.
The company was duly concerned with the objections raised by different environmental organizations and agreed not to begin construction work till a detailed study was complete. Responding wholeheartedly to the demands of activists, Tata Steel agreed for a proposal for a further study of the impact of the port on turtles and on the marine and island eco-system.
In 2005, BNHS and WWF-India, with an unprecedented suddenness, reversed their stand and refused to conduct the assessment study as they had promised. However, the organisations did not provide any reasons for their turncoat attitude.
In March 06, in an address to ED, Greenpeace India, the Chairman of TATA Sons made it clear that commitments were meant to be honoured at both ends. The Company had fulfilled their promise by withholding construction work for the proposed study, which never actually took off. The MD of Tata Steel also met Greenpeace officials in their Bangalore office.
In January 2008 a meeting was subsequently conducted between Greenpeace and Tata Steel and a list of concerns was presented by Greenpeace with regard to Dhamra Port. DPCL on 8th March 2008, gave a detailed and comprehensive explanation to all the points raised by Greenpeace. Subsequent objections were allayed on 3rd May 2008.
Further on 23rd October 2008, MD, Tata Steel along with senior executives of Tata Steel, L&T and DPCL met Greenpeace, BNHS, WPSI, Wild Society of Orissa, Sanctuary Asia and other environmental organizations to discuss the concerns and the way forward on the subject with regard to Dhamra Port.
A team of Company Executives and environment experts visited Bhitarakanika National Park, Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary and the Dhamra Port site on February 2009, supervising the ongoing dredging operations.
On fourth meeting on 20th Feb 2009 in Kolkata, Tata Steel, L&T and DPCL agreed to conduct the additional biological impact assessment in close collaboration with NGOs’ of environmental organizations team led by a mutually agreed upon Scientists team. However the NGOs’ in a further instance of unreasonableness, insisted upon complete cessation of on-going dredging operation of Dhamra Port even before the commencement of study. However DPCL, Tata Steel and L&T team showed it preparedness to adjust the schedule of works including dredging to facilitate the study after due recommendation by the Scientists team.
The 102nd AGM of Tata Steel had been attended by a number of Greenpeace activists who happen to be shareholders of the Company as well. The AGM highlighted Tata Steel’s interests in further conference with Greenpeace in the matter of the port in addition to an invitation to activists to visit the port site yet again.
From the sequence of events, it is absolutely clear that the only thing that Greenpeace wants is to prolong the situation of deadlock in the matter of Dhamra Port. Perhaps, due to a lack of other valid issues on their agenda, Greenpeace is carrying on with a stance of stiffness, lest they have to give in to valid scientific reasoning. The only deduction that may be drawn from Greenpeace’s lack of willingness in discussion is that they have lost their own conviction long before and fear that they will have to admit it as such in an open forum. It is indeed a very sorry state of affairs in which progress is kept at stake and the environment is being used as a pawn by people who profess themselves to be friends of the environment.
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