The State government has provided administrative sanction to release ₹15 crore for shore protection measures for the coastal area between Fort Kochi and Chellanam.
Repair works on seawalls along the coast in South Chellanam, Gunduparambu, Malakhappadi, Bazaar, Velankanni, Chalakkadavu, Kandakkadavu, Reethalayam, Puthenthode, Kannamaly, Cheriakadavu, Kattiparambu, Manassery and Saudi that have been damaged over the years will be taken up immediately.
The government nod for the sea protection measures came in the wake of a blueprint for action submitted by the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council to the government, said Shaji George, convenor of the council, here on Saturday.
He said both Care Chellanam, a voluntary organisation working for the uplift of people in Chellanam, and Coastal Area Development Agency for Liberation (CADAL) under the KRLCC had submitted a memorandum to the government on various issues related to shore protection in Chellanam. CADAL had stated that sea erosion experienced in Chellanam was a fallout of the constant dredging for maintaining the shipping channel for the Kochi port and suggested that materials dredged from the area should be deposited along the coast to help reduce the effect of erosion.
The other suggestions included use of man-made structures such as tripods to protect the coast as granite boulders were no longer an option due to their scarcity. Restrictions on granite quarrying had resulted in paucity of the material in the recent past.
