According to the environmentalists, the popular Versova beach has been completely destroyed by the new retaining wall and the countless tetrapods dropped on the sandy shore. To elucidate their point, activist Zoru Bathena made a video of the location and posted it on his Facebook. In this video, he not only shows the old and the new wall but also questions the objective to cover a part of the beach.
Versova Beach is a popular place in Mumbai and it is also a nesting site for Olive Ridley turtles. He even demands removing the concrete blocks in order to save the beach. In conversation with The Times of India, Zoru Bathena said, "I have just come back from Versova beach, and am aghast to see the rapid destruction of this beautiful coastline. The entire beach has been covered with tetrapods, so there is no way one can even walk on the sand now, leave alone have Olive Ridley turtles laying their eggs here. We, environmentalists, demand that the second retaining wall be removed as also the tetrapods, as they are illegally put there and further damage the ecology,'' said green activist Zoru Bathena.
On Wednesday, a delegation of engineers from the PWD, Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar and local corporator Pratima Khopade visited the beach along with local residents and environmentalists. During their visit, they found that a major part of the beach around Sagar Kutir Sangh was filled with tetrapods, while the new wall that is being constructed was almost completed.
Bathena has also revealed that he might take legal action against this construction with his fellow green activist - D Stalin.
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