Tirupati: Pulicat sea mouth opening will spur tourism development says Collector G Lakshmisha

Tirupati : The much-awaited proposal for opening of sea mouth into Pulicat lake in Rayadaruvu on the northern side of Satish Dhawan Space centre is becoming a reality with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laying foundation stone for the works virtually on March 12. Ahead of this programme, district Collector Dr G Lakshmisha, MP Dr M Gurumoorthy and MLC Meruga Murali visited the area of sea mouth opening by travelling in a boat on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Collector said the sea mouth opening will help improve tourism potential in the area besides providing livelihood to fishermen families. He assured all steps to solve the problems of Nawab Pet and surrounding areas. “When Tirupati MP brought to my notice about the lack of basic amenities in the area, I decided to visit the place in person. It was very painful to see the plight of fishermen there”, he maintained.

Collector Lakshmisha added that he will talk to the forest, State and Central government officials to resolve the road issue. If the sea mouth is opened, fishes can enter the lake from the sea, which can provide livelihood to fishermen. Several birds can also migrate to the area with which tourism sector will flourish. For the sea mouth works, an estimated Rs 97.09 crore will be spent.

MP Gurumoorthy said that he made several efforts at the State and Central governments to get approvals for sea mouth opening. The goal was to see smiles on the faces of fishermen. A road is also sanctioned from Manapalem to Nawabpet with a cost of Rs 3.97 crore. Approvals have also come for setting up a cell tower at Rayadaruvu.

MLC Muralidhar, RDO Kiran Kumar and Chandramuni, fisheries officer Nagaraju, SEs Shankar Narayana, Vijay Kumar and other district officials participated.