Eols for ports: Experts sound Joshimath alarm for Nicobar

Even as hundreds of people have been evacuated from E Joshimath, a Himalayan town slowly sinking, questions have been raised on years of unchecked construction, hydropower projects, and the lack of a proper drainage system.

- NITIN KUMAR, DHRUVAKSH SAHA

Local anger has been directed at a government-owned power company, whose ongoing hydropower project, they allege, is tunnelling through the fragile ecosystem.

While some experts believe the situation is still salvageable, there is another Joshimath-like crisis waiting to happen.

As part of the 'holistic development' of the Great Nicobar Island, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working towards the development of a mega International Container Transhipment Port at Galathea Bay of Great Nicobar Island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Off the eastern coast, Great Nicobar Island is a tropical oasis in the Andaman Sea. This modest biogeographical marvel - home to 650 species of flora and 330 species of fauna - of 910 square (sq.) kilometers (km) is the last of the 572 islands that make up the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

Last year, large swathes of land and coastal area, including portions of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve and Galathea Bay, were stripped of their protected status to make way for a massive construction project proposed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation.