Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Waves damage shore in Tirunelveli district

TIRUNELVELI: The coastal village of Uvari, which miraculously escaped from the fiery of tsunami with minimum destruction, may be devoured by the tides in the near future as furious waves triggered by strong winds are gradually moving towards the residential areas.

As the sea becomes so rough during the season between May and September and the waves lash the shore so violently, causing damage to the boats, the villagers approached a garnet export company a few years ago, which heaped hundreds of loads of ‘waste sand’ on the shoreline.

Besides neutralising the fury of the tides, the artificial sand dune also shielded the villagers to some extent.

However, the situation has worsened this year since the ferocity of the tides has increased manifold. As of now, the distance between the shoreline and the nearby houses has been narrowed down by the unprecedentedly aggressive waves to just ten metres.

After uprooting the trees on the shore, the strong waves have also felled a couple of electric poles on the street near the beach.

Following the problem that started after the gusty westerly winds started lashing this village, the fishermen have moved their fibreglass boats to safer places. Otherwise, the crafts would have been dashed against nearby houses.

“I’m seeing roughness in the sea right from my childhood. But I have never seen the sea steadily advancing towards the shore with such a force that may engulf the structures close to the beach anytime. So the government should do something immediately to protect the public by constructing a breakwater,” said S.V. Antony, president of Uvari panchayat.

Urging the State Government to initiate immediate steps to construct groyne, a protective structure of stone or concrete, in order to prevent waves from washing away nearby structures, villagers led by Uvari parish priest Rev. Fr. Susilan observed fast on Thursday. The villagers expressed hope that the government, which had already constructed groynes in a couple of coastal hamlets in the neighbouring Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts and even in Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district, would sanction a groyne for their hamlet, housing the St. Antony’s shrine that attracts thousands of devotees.

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