Hacking of Coringa mangrove forests near the Kakinada coast which is also a heritage site stirred up the state politics while the state government is still trying to snub the issue. With various student activity taking social media as medium, the issue took an interesting turn with opposition leaders’ support.
While the government officials tried to hit back the allegations stating that the 100 acres of the land cleared for constructing houses for the poor is not under Coringa mangrove forests, various before and after satellite images of the forest are making rounds on social media.
Satellite images captured between February and May of 2020 have revealed that mangroves on 100 acres of land have been felled for a housing project at Kakinada in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. The images clearly portrayed the felling of a certain amount of forests against the statement given by the officials. It is known fact that environmentalist Satyanarayana Bolisetty has filed a petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) after which NGT has now formed a five-member committee to enquire into the matter.
It was also learnt that the district administration continued with the construction activities with much enthusiasm despite the lockdown norms. “According to the lockdown protocol, no private or government body is supposed to indulge in construction activities. However, the district administration with local MLA started levelling the ground. Telangana High Court has taken a suo moto notice of the case and stayed the construction,” said environmentalist Sathyanarayana Bolisetty.
