NEW DELHI: At least six whales have died since July as a result of digging under the sea to create a shipping route off India’s southern coast, proving that the controversial plan hurts the environment, activists said.

The digging or dredging is part of the $560-million Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project which will carve a channel in the narrow strip of sea between south-eastern India and western Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs.

But environmentalists, who have opposed the project claiming it will badly affect marine life, said the death of the whales proved their concerns were valid.

“Since July, at least six whales have died after getting stranded on beaches or have been washed ashore already dead,” said Ossie Fernandez of Coastal Action Network, an alliance of over 45 social and environmental groups.

“But local fishermen have seen more dead whales so it could be as high as 10,” he said, adding that most of the dead whales were found off the coast of Rameswaram -- a south-eastern Hindu holy town in Tamil Nadu state.

Activists said the whales’ navigation sensors get affected by the loud noise of the dredging and the powerful sound waves emitted by sonar machines used to conduct marine surveys. As a result, the marine mammals lose their sense of direction and get stranded in the shallow waters near Rameswaram.

When the project is finished, ships sailing between India’s western and eastern coasts will no longer have to go around the south of Sri Lanka, and are expected to save up to 730 nautical kilometres and 36 hours of sailing time.

But environmentalists say the dredging will also mean dumping sediment in deeper water further out to sea. This and increased freight traffic could harm marine life and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen in both countries.—Reuters