The construction of a fishing jetty at Talchua near the Bhittar Kanika Sanctuary in Orissa has been stopped short by a Central directive. The decision was based on a report by a team appointed by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF), which recommended that the construction of the jetty be suspended until a study was conducted on the impact of such development schemes on an extremely fragile marine eco-system.

Pressure had been building up against the construction of the Rs 84.95 lakh jetty and a connecting road running inside the estuarine forests. Even the state's principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden, G S Padhi, is opposing the project. Padhi has written to the principal secretary of the forest and environment department, urging that in the interests of the state, the project be scrapped. He pointed out that the 200 trawlers expected to operate from the jetty would destroy the mangrove forests.

The sanctuary is also the biggest nesting ground in India for Olive Ridley turtles. Says Padhi, "We can ill-afford to sacrifice the well-being of the people of four coastal districts for all time to come in the interests of barely 10,000-15,000 people."