Beach on northern side of Pondy will be restored: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Puducherry: Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday said the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) would take up restoration of the beach on the northern side of Puducherry that covers Tami Nadu as has been done in Puducherry.

Addressing via online officials of NIOT and stakeholders and representatives of PondyCan, a non- profit organisation, he said, "NIOT was already seized of restoring the rest of the coast and it will happen in due course."

He said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has evinced keen interest in the scientific endeavours, including the coastal issues. "Efforts on the restoration of the lost beach in Puducherry began in 2009 and accomplished in 2021 which itself speaks volumes for the kind of priorities that government had accorded, said the Union Minister.

The Minister complimented the NIOT for the restoration project by saying the institute of ocean technology has successfully proved how the beach could be restored. This unique experiment would be taken note of in other parts of the country and the services of NIOT would be utilised to a greater extent, he said. Director of NIOT (Chennai) G A Ramadass said NIOT has the mandate to demonstrate technologies for ocean-related issues.

As part of it, environment and engineering groups studied the coast for erosion came out with site-specific solutions and demonstrated this technology at two places - Periyakuppam in Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry, he said. Director of National Centre for Coastal Research M V Ramana Murthy and scientific officer of NIOT R Suresh were among those present.