Sea erosion: Karnataka CM moots Permanent Solution Committee

UDUPI: Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that the state would set up a Permanent Solution Committee, to find a lasting solution to sea erosion plaguing the 330km of state’s coastline.
"A detailed project report (DPR) will be done, for which funds would be sanctioned immediately. To implement the project after getting the DPR, funding will be sought through an external agency, since it is difficult to earmark such huge funds through the state budget," said Bommai.
The Sea wave breaker technology, which is going to be tried on a trial basis at Battapady, Ullal, will be reviewed and depending on the success rate, a call will be taken on the technologies implementation on the coastal shoreline of the state, CM said again on Wednesday.
The CM reviewed the entire rain situation in the three coastal districts and said till now in the state, 32 lives have been lost, five were missing and 34 have been injured. Being specific to the coast, he said seven lives have been lost in the three districts. Giving the breakup, he said Dakshina Kannada had five deaths, Uttara Kannada two and Udupi two people had lost lives due to the rains.
But the CM did not forget about the need for temporary measures along the coast. He said based on suggestions by Deputy Commissioners of the three districts, the state will provide funds immediately to take up temporary measures to arrest sea erosion to save land, property and lives. ``The DPR on permanent solution for sea erosion will be ready in two to three months. Then we will explore avenues to get external funding,’’ he added.
Next week, the CM will tour Uttara Kannada and Belagavi districts, study the issues and take call on relief measures. CM visited Maravanthe beach and gave an ear to the grievances of the locals regarding sea erosion, sub-standard temporary works, to which CM said action would be taken if the survey finds works to be not up to the mark.