Sea walls yet to be fortified, coastline prone to erosion

The 10-km stretch of the coastline between Puthiyappa and the Kothi bridge remains exposed to the threat of sea erosion as sea walls are yet to be fortified.

During recent incidents of high tide, fishers living on the stretch had a harrowing time surviving the onslaught of the waves. The Revenue Department had wanted to relocate several families to safer locations.

The groins constructed along some of the stretches using the Gabion technique had succumbed to the weather reportedly due to the poor quality of wires used. The stones stacked have come out of the Gabion baskets within just five years of their construction.

‘No safety audit’

“It is only when there is a high tide that someone representing the government comes here in the name of inspection. The official goes back promising immediate action. No safety audit has been carried out here in the past five years to try the best preventive measure against sea erosion,” said Sharafudheen, a resident near Mukhadar. “During the monsoon season, it is tough to survive and most families shift to the houses of relatives in other locations,” he added.

Action council

An action council of residents in the crowded Nainamvalappu area recently urged the district administration to put in place better preventive measures against sea erosion. They complained that the constructions carried out in the area earlier were not up to the mark and groins were facing destruction.

Officials sources said the work was carried out in keeping with professional standards and on the basis of a plan prepared by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Meanwhile, the office of M.K. Raghavan, MP, has said that the matter has been taken up with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas. Mr. Raghavan, who sent a letter to Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Thomas, requested the completion of the fortification work ahead of the monsoon.