Advancing waves and the subsequent erosion have already claimed buildings and property along the coast from Uchil to Ullal. But the “permanent solution”, costing Rs. 911 crore, will only come into effect from next year, according to U.T. Khader, Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
Coastal properties in places like Ullal, Kotepura, Kodi, Mogaveerpatna, Oiliyarinagar were in danger of being washed away this year.
The Minister assured the people that the port would grant temporary relief such as dumping boulders and sand bags. This will be until the Rs. 236 crore Asian Development Bank’s sea wall project takes off. “The ADB project is a permanent solution, but that will take three years. But as the berms and reefs are being constructed, the effects of sea erosion will be abated.
Until then, the port department will ensure boulders are constantly replaced along the coast,” Mr. Khader, who is also the local MLA, said. He added that the work was expected to start from October.
Speaking on the administration’s readiness, for what has become an annual experience during the monsoons, he said: “There are weak spots along the coast, but you can’t tell when it will hit where. Some had objected to construction of a concrete wall or dumping of stones in front of their properties, and these properties are being damaged this year.”
With the frothy churning of the ocean and strong waves beating down on the coast, Chetan S. Kalvi, Chief Officer, Ullal Town Municipal Corporation, said the erosion this time was “worse” than last time.
“A lit of beach has been lost. Usually, the erosion starts later, but this time, it has started when the monsoons are yet to intensify,” he said.
At Summer Sands, a resort at Ullal, an open-air auditorium balances precariously on the edge of a precipice created by the swirling waves. Mr. Khader assured him boulders will be unloaded as soon as the tides recede.
A little distance away at Uchil, Chandrashekhar U., a fisherman, says within the matter of days, nearly 50m of beach has disappeared.
The stones dumped in front of his house were “too small” and were being washed away, he told Mr. Khader. So far a store room for his nets and ice boxes have been damaged.
