A team from the city consisting of engineers and scientists will visit the Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune, to seek permanent solution for the prevention of erosion of beach.
The team comprising representatives of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, National Institute of Oceanography, GVMC and VUDA will go armed with hydrological data available with the port authorities and details of the erosion observed during the past few days.
Once the team returns from Pune the next course of action will be decided and funding finalised.
The decision to send the team was taken at a meeting convened by district Collector S. Solomon Arokia Raj on Monday.
The experts are of the view that constructing a concrete structure will result in a strong wave action while receding whereas a porous soft wall helps dissipate its force by allowing a part of it through the wall.
Various causes Experts at the meeting attributed various causes, including recurring cyclones and monsoon activity, to the erosion witnessed at Gokul Park here, at Bheemunipatnam, near the Submarine Museum and adjacent to it hitting the footpath as well. At Rushikonda the sea receded.
Chief Engineer B. Jayarami Reddy said though dredging was taken up by VPT and DCI, owing to the coming up of Gangavaram port the quantity came down drastically from the earlier 4 lakh cum.
Funding not a problem A number of solutions like geo grids was done at Goa and Uppada, or cross-barriers tried in Japan were suggested. Funding would not be a problem, he said citing the instance of Uppada where the Rs.8 crore was footed by the R&B Department on 2 km of beach.
VUDA Vice-Chairman N. Yuvaraj, NIO Principal Scientist in charge V. S. N. Murthy, Port Trust Chief Engineer Ramachandra Rao, Andhra University professors C. S. V. Satyanarayana Reddy, D. S. R. Murthy and Muni Reddy, VUDA Chief Engineer I. Viswanatham and Madhusudhan from DCI were among those who participated in the meeting at the Collectorate.
