Lobsters once thrived in abundance along the Kutch coast, sustaining local fishing communities and marine ecology. Their sharp decline is closely linked to the World Bank–funded Tata Mundra power project. The plant’s once-through cooling system discharged heated water into the sea, raising surface temperatures and disrupting marine habitats. This thermal pollution drove fish stocks away on a massive scale, collapsing traditional fisheries. Lobsters are particularly sensitive; once they abandon a habitat, they do not return. Their disappearance signals irreversible ecological damage, exposing how large infrastructure projects externalize environmental costs while eroding livelihoods, biodiversity, and coastal resilience.