Residents of the coast in the capital district have started getting a feel of what the monsoon has in store for them with the sea already beginning to lash the coast, giving them sleepless nights.
Reports of sea erosion have begun surfacing from coastal areas from Saturday, like it is every year just before the monsoon, with water entering several houses in Valiyathura, Anchuthengu near Chirayinkeezhu, and a few areas to the south of Neyyattinkara, including Pozhiyoor.
According to Chirayinkeezhu Tahsildar R. Suku, who visited the affected spots in the taluk on Saturday and Sunday, there was no major damage reported yet but the official machinery was on a round-the-clock vigil. Most of reports of sea erosion were from near Anchuthengu and from the Thazhampally, Mukkukada areas. At the same time, a transformer of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) near Kallukadavu was in the danger of coming down any moment with its foundations being damaged by the waves. More than a hundred families in the area depended on this transformer for power supply, Mr. Suku said, adding that the officials concerned had been informed.
In Valiyathura, water entered about 30 huts alongside the shore and high waves continued to torment the residents. District officials visited the site to assess the situation.
District Collector K.N. Satheesh said the situation was under control. All Tahsildars had been asked to be on alert and to make necessary arrangements in case relief camps had to be set up.
Control rooms
The control room at the Collectorate was monitoring the situation while another one operated by the Fisheries Department too was functioning.
Taluk-level control rooms would be opened once the monsoon began and when sea erosion was expected to increase. The district machinery was geared up to face the situation if the erosion got severe, he added.
Reports of sea erosion, with water entering houses on the coast, have been reported from the coast with disturbing regularity every year. The absence of a seawall in many areas has been cited as one factor that has accentuated the damage caused.
