Feature Article

Puducherry port defies ecology, economics

No proper assessment of damage by port

Sethusamudram ghost in Puducherry machine

Halcrow, consultants to Pondicherry Port Limited, could not give a detailed response to Down To Earth's questionnaire pleading time constraints, but it did clearly say the environment impact assessment (EIA) it prepared "was in accordance with ToR (terms of reference) given to us by the client'.

Subhash Projects and Marketing Limited (SPML) says it is a Rs 400-crore company with its registered office in Delhi, corporate office in Kolkata and branch offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bhopal, Patna and Guwahati. It claims 25 years of expertise in turnkey projects, but its website has no reference to port development work.

This article features Dusty Gedge an actor and circus performer, who had been an avid birdwatcher since the age of seven. In 1997, a conservation officer in Deptford, south-east London, recruited him to do a birdwatching survey for a creekside regeneration project.

The article discussses the health effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). Between 1960 and 1977 Monsanto's Newport plant produced several types of PCB, that are persistent and ubiquitous and toxic.

The article discusses the emergence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). Manufactured from the waste products of the crude oil refining process and a range of chlorinated chemicals, these oily, syrupy liquids had a multitude of uses and have been described as being as near perfect as any industrial chemical can be. PCBs conduct heat but not electricity and they are not water soluble.