Activist and villagers who recently attended a environment public hearing in Dholera to help create map for the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification had urged the authorities to come with updated maps of coastal areas for, the sea had gobbled up many villages wholly or partly. The villagers were not exaggerating. A report based on the National Assessment on Shoreline Changes by ISRO has shown that among the 13 coastal districts in the state, 10 districts have reported erosion. This erosion accounts for 45.8% of 1600 km of the state’s coastline and comes under high, medium and low-intensity erosion. Of the 13 district, Kutch recorded the maximum coast under erosion with 310 km of erosion being recorded. Kutch also had maximum coast under high erosion at 62.3 km followed by Jamnagar 12.9km, Bharuch 6.2km and Valsad 3.1km. Around 648 km of the state’s coastline is under medium and low erosion. Overall 84.5 km of the state’s coastline is under high erosion which amounts for 5.3% of erosion being recorded. The report mentions various factors, including mining and developmental activities as one of the reasons for the erosions. Rohit Prajapati, who was among those who attended a environmental public hearing for CRZ and had sought that the CRZ management plan be made on the basis of an updated maps said rising sea level is one reason for coastal erosion. “But the most important reason is the rampant development and sand mining that is happening in the coastal areas,” said Prajapati. He said a lot of lands is being reclaimed in the name of development, and a lot of creeks are being filled up to create more land. “This puts pressure on the sea and as we claim land from one end, it puts pressure, pushing the sea to the other end,” said Prajapati. “Moreover, as sand mining continues unabated on coastal regions, it weakens the shore and allows for sea water to seep in,” he said. He added that when we talk of coastal erosion we only take into consideration land that is lost to the sea, we don’t consider land that has been rendered useless because of salinity ingress and such. REPORT CARD – A report based on the National Assessment on Shoreline Changes by ISRO has shown that among the 13 coastal districts in the state. – Report says various factors, including mining and developmental activities as one of the reasons for the erosions.