Population explosion hits coastal ecosystems

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ACCORDING to the department of ocean development there are 40 heavily polluted areas along the Indian coast. Marine pollution problems, though localised, occur off most metropolitan cities and thickly populated coastal towns. Untreated domestic and industrial wastes are a serious problem in Bombay, Vishakhapatnam, Porbandar, Veli near Thiruvananthapuram, Tuticorin Kakinada, Visakhapatnam and Calcutta. Pollutants get accumulated in marine sediments, as in the Kochi backwaters and the Ennore estuary. In due course, these areas become heavily polluted and severely affect marine organisms.Major coastal polluton areas are shown below: