Additional Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta visited the sea erosion-hit Chellanam on Saturday as part of the efforts by the State government to find a solution to the continuing problem of more than 400 houses in the coastal village facing serious threat from high waves and sea incursion.
The situation has worsened at North Velankanni, Bazaar and Companyppady areas in Chellanam following incessant rain on Friday despite the installation of geotextile bags filled with sand to provide some protection from sea erosion.
The visit of the State official follows initiatives by Kerala Region Latin Catholic Association leaders. Association president Shaji George said in a statement that a round of talks was held with officials from the Department of Irrigation on Friday on the issues affecting Chellanam residents. The decisions taken include the appointment of a monitoring committee to oversee the installation of geotextile tubes and to make a scientific study of the direction and force of the sea waves that cause severe sea erosion.
Plight of residents
Louis, 68, a resident of Ward No. 13 whose five-year-old house is facing threat from the raging sea, told The Hindu on Saturday evening that he would not have constructed his house in that area if Cyclone Ockhi had lashed the region a year or two earlier.
“The sea wall fell to Ockhi and ever since, with the government dragging its feet on a mechanism to protect the coastal villages from the vagaries of the sea during the monsoon, we have been living in constant fear of being devoured by it. I have six cents of land with the housing costing ₹10 lakh and I had put all my savings on it. From the beginning, we had realised the geotextile tube system, as it was being done, wouldn’t work. Now, the issue is in court. And our fate is hanging in the balance,” he said, anger palpable in his voice.
The fence between his house and his neighbour’s had fallen.
With waterlogging becoming a recurrent issue, many residents have now put up two-feet high concrete slabs on the doorways to their houses to prevent inundation. “The water brings with it a foul smell, as there will be everything from slush to septage and it’s tough cleaning up the houses after it has receded,” said another resident of Ward No. 13.
Last week, Kerala State Commission for Minorities chairman P.K. Haneefa, who visited Chellanam, had said that a report on the situation and possible solutions would be submitted to the State government after wider consultations. He had called for desilting the major canals that would help drain sea water quickly from the village.