Save our city Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Save our city - Essay Example However, with continuous human interference with Venetian ecology, the city is now more prone to floods from high-rise tides. The utilization of mudflats for construction and diversion of rivers and other similar actions have disturbed the ecological balance of Venice with the Arabian Sea. This is the main reason for Venice getting floods during high tides and heavy rains. (Nosengo). It is the Italian name of the engineering solution for saving Venice. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi initiated this costly project and declared the working on it in December 2001. The project cost is around USD 2.6 billion and it is scheduled to complete in 2011, with the construction of hollow gates starting in 2006.The project being an engineering solution to save Venice from floods involves construction of 78 hollow metal gates, having the height of 20m with thickness of 5m. The placement of these gates is at three main inlets of this lagoon. (Nosengo). Many environmentalists have shown concerns about the project as they feel that even a few hours of closure of gates can cause tremendous disturbance to the ecosystem of this lagoon. Politicians have expressed fears that money meant for this project will be diverted elsewhere in the city. Deputy Mayor of Venice, Gianfranco Bettin has been the most forthright in his criticism of MOSE, saying that it is â€Å"expensive, hazardous and probably useless†. (Nosengo). The strong criticism to the technical feasibility of MOSE is from Paolo Antonio, who was born in Venice and works with Laboratory of Physical Geography in Meudon, France. His main concern relates to MOSE being developed keeping in mind the 1966 major floods, which are unlikely to occur for another 165 years. He says the project cannot offer result-oriented solution for smaller floods. His other concern relates to the rapid rise in water levels during the closure of gates. However, supporters of MOSE argue that 1966 can