Kasaragod man’s tech may solve issue of sea erosion

Mangaluru: Ever since chief minister Basavaraj Bommai mentioned about experimenting with sea wave breaker technology on a 1 km stretch of shoreline in Ullal, it has piqued interest amongst many, especially the residents whose homes and livelihood are at stake.
Karnataka’s coast has seen crores of rupees wasted on boulders, and the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Rs 300 crore solution has not worked. The waves have shown resilience against human intervention.
The Ullal shoreline will use the globally patented technology of an industrialist from Kasaragod, christened ‘UK Yoosuf Effects Seawave Breakers.’
Yoosuf, director of the company, said, “I developed this technology after a lot of research. Me and my team have been working with the coastal community in Kasaragod for years. We have been ideating and experimenting on various construction technologies and protection measures, that could protect the shoreline. The protection measures and their side-effects, used worldwide, were studied by us.”
Yoousf noted that while the boulders and other protection measures are placed on the sand, which gets clawed into the sea by the force of waves, his technology uses a large block, a unit of which is 50 ft in length, 20 ft in width and 15 ft in height, and weighs 400 tonnes.
“Depending on the requirement, the blocks are buried in the sand, at a minimum of 10 ft-12 ft, leaving the beach usable,’’ he said.
“I had met the chief minister on June 13, along with fisheries minister S Angara and other officials. The very next day, a team came and examined my project at Nellikunnu, Kasaragod, which is up to a length of 100 ft, which was completed in May. Impressed by it, the CM has given me the go ahead, to try it on a 1 km stretch in Battapady,’’ he said, adding that the project will cost Rs 24 crore, including approach road, garden, beautification and lighting.
“This is 10% of what the other technology costs. I am 1,000% confident of my technology, to arrest sea erosion,’’ he said, adding that the work will start within two weeks.
He also claimed that arresting sea erosion in one location, will not cause it to happen elsewhere.