Erra Matti Dibbalu, Red Sand Dunes, Too Precious to lose
On the Bay of Bengal coast, to the south of the Bhimunipatnam ridge, is an area comprising deeply gullied red sand dunes. You can look it up in Google Earth at (17 52.078' N, 083 25.845 E). This area is referred in Telugu as "Erra Matti Dibbalu" which translates to Red Sand Hills. They are unique because of the rarity of such gullied red dunes formations of which only three remain in South East Asia. The Erra Matti Dibbalu was formed over thousands of years. Nature, the great artist has gifted us these sublimely beautiful formations and it must be enjoyed with care. The threats to these dunes are from irresponsible tourism. Visitors scramble all over the dunes and erode them at an unnatural rate. The area is filling up with litter left behind by picnickers. Builders eye the empty land with hopes of building on it and government departments want to use it for some official construction or other. If the formations are to be saved, urgent action must be taken to safegu...