Beach nourishment on a regular basis is essential to arrest beach erosion and if steps are not taken on a war-footing there is every chance of the risk spreading to apartments on the beach road, former professor in IIT-Madras Narasimha Rao said.
Delivering the keynote address at a consultative meeting on beach erosion organised at the initiative of Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu here on Monday, the former professor of oceanography pointed out that he had sounded a caution on the potential risk of beach erosion some four years ago. It was unfortunate that no concrete steps had been taken despite the warning, he said.
Participating in the discussion, Rao Tatavarti of Gayatri College of Engineering, who has conducted studies on beach erosion, said it was imperative that data on waves, currents, sediment and bathymetry be conducted over a significant period of time before drawing up a permanent solution. He offered to deploy the equipment to conduct the studies provided someone took care of the logistics. Chairman and Managing Director of Vizag Seaports R. Kishore offered to take care of the logistics.
Assistant Professor in Department of Civil Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering (Autonomous) MG Muni Reddy suggested submerged breakwaters as one of the options to stem the erosion.
The Visakhapatnam Port Trust has taken up the beach nourishment but of late there has not been enough sand available in the sand trap for restoring eroded sediment, former Vice Chairman Visakhapatnam Port Trust G.V.L. Satya Kumar said. It was everyone’s responsibility to protect the city’s beach and not just the port or any single agency. Professor and Head of Department of Meteorology and Oceanography K.V.S.R. Prasad, chairman of Vijay Nirman Company Pvt Ltd S. Vijay Kumar, member of Governing body of Gayatri College of Engineering P.S. Rao, representatives of GVMC, VUDA and a number of senior engineers participated.
