Dona Paula sea bed is a carpet of plastic: Pandey (ToI)

Dona Paula sea bed is a carpet of plastic: Pandey By Gauree Malkarnekar, TNN | Nov 24, 2012, 03.22 AM IST PANAJI: When three-time Green Oscar winner Mike Pandey dived into the waters off Dona Paula in Goa while making the documentary 'Mangroves: Gaurdians of the Coast', all he saw was a carpet of plastic waste. Cups and bags and other plastic garbage is what's choking Goa's mangroves and leaving the state's coastal communities vulnerable in case of a tsunami or tidal surge, Pandey said, and called for restoring mangroves. "I dived in Goa in two areas-at Dona Paula and another site in North Goa- and all I saw was a carpet of plastic cups, bags and other waste on the sea bed," said Pandey, who is at the 43rd International film festival of India (Iffi) to screen his documentary. From P 1 "The plastic waste is a major reason for wiping out Goa's mangroves. We have covered mangroves from Gujarat to the Sunderbans for the 28-minute documentary and in most of the areas in the country, land use change is affecting the survival of mangroves," Pandey said. Pandey visited and revisited mangrove plantations in Goa for the documentary over the last three years and while working on it with the help of scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography found that waste from industries, hotels and even homes, is being disposed in the sea making the water increasingly acidic. The film will also be telecast on Doordarshan across the country in different languages, including in Konkani on Goa Doordarshan. "Mining is benefitting only a few in Goa and it is not true when it is made out to seem like it is the backbone of Goa's economy and there cannot be an alternative. If mangroves are restored, they can provide enough breeding grounds and nurseries for young fish to grow so that fishing can provide the alternative to mining displaced persons. Replenishing mangroves will bring fish closer to the coastline again," Pandey said, adding that tourism will be the second best employment generator. Without mangroves to act as barriers, Pandey said that if a Tsunami, cyclone or tidal surge strikes, fishing communities and other habitations will be wiped out even half a kilometer from the coast. "Shrimp farming has also taken a toll on mangroves in Goa. Thankfully, post Tsunami the authorities have woken up and there are attempts at reforestation of mangroves," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Dona-Paula-sea-bed-is-a-carpet-of-plastic-Pandey/articleshow/17343420.cms