Writeback

Brigadier Shruti Kant, PR (Army)

Saikat Datta replies: As mentioned by Brig Kant, there were ‘‘slippages’’. It confirms that the project is running behind schedule and therefore a need has been felt to set a new deadline. We stand by the story.

Please refer to your news item entitled ‘Pepsi’s new fight is over an algae’ that appeared on April 12 in your paper. As the providers of the technology, we deem it our duty to point out the following:

(i) The algae in question, Eucheuma cottonii, is a tropical algae and has been reported from the coastal waters of several South East Asian countries. It has also been reported from Okha, Gujarat and Andaman & Nicobar islands. It would therefore be incorrect to term Eucheuma an alien species.

(ii) Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, had sourced small quantities of commercially important Eucheuma of Philippines origin in 1984 and 1994 after obtaining necessary government approvals. The seaweed was studied extensively under confined conditions for over seven years. It was found to adapt and grow well in Indian waters and there was no incidence of a disease breakout. There was no evidence of establishment of Eucheuma in the natural habitat in the vicinity of the cultivation either.

(iii) In view of the commercial importance of Eucheuma — both for import substitution and export — and the considerable potential for women empowerment in coastal areas, the Department of Biotechnology sanctioned a project to CSMCRI for development of a viable cultivation technology, both for Eucheuma and another seaweed called Gelidiella acerosa. Cultivation was undertaken only in shallow waters along the main land. In other words, every effort has been made to stay farthest away from ecologically sensitive areas.

(iv) The cultivation technology for Eucheuma was transferred to Pepsico after establishing the practical viability of cultivation on monoline through vegetative propagation. Pepsico, in turn, had obtained necessary approvals from concerned agencies for large-scale cultivation trials and CSMCRI assisted in supervising these trials.

(v) We do not refute the need to undertake long-term studies on the environment. For such studies, however, it would be necessary to undertake cultivation over a sufficiently large area. These studies can be done in parallel while commercial-scale cultivation is taken up.
Pushpito K Ghosh
Director,
CSMCRI, Bhavnagar

Pallava Bagla replies: None of the facts put forward by Dr Ghosh confirm that Eucheuma cottonii is found in the waters of Rameshwaram and Gulf of Mannar (it says the algae is of Philippines origin). So the introduced species here is undoubtedly an alien one. Also nobody can question the fact that Gulf of Mannar is ecologically very fragile, and was declared the first Marine Biosphere Reserve in all of South and South-east Asia. Introducing a species not native to anywhere near this area has many concomitant risks.

It should also be noted that on April 4, 2003, I sent a detailed questionnaire to Dr K. Easwaran, the CSMCRI scientist overseeing the Pepsi marine algae project, but I got no response. We stand by the story.