HYDERABAD, India — Even as Greenpeace activists in Europe began toxic patrols to prevent export of single hull tankers to Asian beaches for breaking, Greenpeace India activists confronted the Andhra Pradesh Government at the secretariat in Hyderabad today, demanding that the state government abandon their plans of setting up ship-breaking yards in Kakinada. If permitted, the new ship-breaking yard will devastate the livelihood of the local fishermen, pollute the pristine beaches and destroy the mangrove forest of Coringa.
Greenpeace activists in skeleton suits hold up banners depicting toxic contamination at Alang and Patancheru. The activists are calling on the AP Government to Save Kakinada, and reject a proposal to build a new ship-breaking yard on this pristine beach.
ACT
NOW: Join the Campaign to save Kakinada Beach! Local fishing
families need your help.
Holding banners depicting death and destruction in the existent
ship-breaking yards in Alang, Gujarat and the impacts of toxic
pollution in Patancheru, the skeleton-suited activists called on
the Government to 'SAVE KAKINADA' and demanded 'No Alang at
Kakinada, No Patancheru at Kakinada'. The activists were arrested
and subsequently released.
The proposal for the new yard comes in the wake of the
International Maritime Organization's (IMO) decision to phase out
all single-hulled oil tankers on April 5th 2005, which would
substantially increase the number of ships headed to the
shipbreaking yards of Asia. The unscrupulous ship-breaking
community of Gujarat is looking for new areas to start their
business as they are finding it difficult to comply with recently
introduced strict guidelines at Alang to protect the environment
and ensure safety of their workers.
"The AP Government has already demonstrated its inability to
control the pollution and related impacts of the unregulated
chemical industry in Medak district. There is also indisputable
evidence from Alang of the enormous impact of the toxic chemicals
that are discharged from a ship-breaking yard," said Ramapati
Kumar, Toxics Campaigner, Greenpeace India, "By opening a new
ship-breaking yard at Kakinada, the government will only be
inviting a new chemical crisis into Andhra Pradesh, and exposing
200,000 people and the environment, to deadly toxic chemicals. On
behalf of activists around the world who have sent thousands of
emails to the Chief Minister, we're here to say 'Bahut Ho Gaya, we
don't want another toxic hotspot in Andhra Pradesh!'"
"The people of Kakinada will go to any extent to ensure that a
new ship-breaking yard does not come up in this sensitive and
fragile environment," said Dr. Mrs. T. Rajyalakshmi, President of
the Society for Promotion of Integrated Coastal Area Management
(SPICAM), "Ship-breaking activities are a real threat - they are
bound to affect the livelihood of fishermen, could change the
topography of Hope Island and irreversibly contaminate the mangrove
forest which provides natural protection to Kakinada. We must
ensure that the greed of the government and the industry is not
allowed to supersede good sense."
Act
now: send an email together with the Kakinada fishermen!
You can help save the beaches and mangroves of Kakinada.
Read the testimonies of the fisherman's families and join them in
protesting against the shipbreaking plans. Send an e-mail to
the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and to the transport ministers
of the European Union!
Links:
Kakinada facts and figures
Shipbreaking in Kakinada
Mangrove forests
Read the testimonies of the fishermen's families
For photographs and video footage of the protest, please
contact: Ramapati Kumar, Toxics Campaigner, Greenpeace India:
+919845535414 
Namrata Chowdhary, Media Officer: +919810850092
