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Kakinada: facts and figures

Kakinada is a city on the east coast of India (Andhra Pradesh). It has around 450.000 inhabitants. The Kakinada bay is made up of the estuary of the Godavari River. A small sandy formation of 16 kilometers in the Bay of Bengal protects Kakinada from the strong cyclones and tidal waves. It's called Hope Island. Here we find several species of turtles.

Fishing industry
Agriculture and fishing industry are the main sources of income. There are about 28 landing centers at this zone. Kakinada also has a big fishing wharf. There are about 15,500 registered fishermen cooperative societies in the region. Along the shore around 200.000 people depend on fishing for their livelihood.

Industrialisation
The western shorelines are industrialised after the discovery of natural gas in the Krishna- Godavari basin. There are two big fertilizer plants and one big gas power plant. To handle the petroleum products and attract gas based industries, a deep-sea port was established.

Mangrove
The shallow Kakinada bay is an ecologically very sensitive area. On its southern part is the second largest mangrove forest in India. It's one of the last remaining big united mangrove areas in South East Asia. Part of it was declared as the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, renowned for its reptiles.

Pollution
Industrial activities, waste disposal, settlement effect the coastal environment. Mass fish kills in Coringa followed the release of industrial effluents upstream. Kakinada canal, through which the town's sewage enters the bay is the major source of organic pollution.