District Collector U.V. Jose will hold a meeting with engineers of the Irrigation Department at the collectorate on Monday and discuss the possibility of carrying out emergency seawall fortification work on the vulnerable coastline stretches of Kozhikode district.
The meeting is being convened in the wake of complaints from people’s representatives that the fortification work had been pending on several stretches owing to the “casual approach” of the authorities.
The meeting will take stock of the situation between Azhiyoor and Beypore. Work will be carried out on a war footing after obtaining sanction from the superintending engineer of the department.
At a recent meeting of the District Development Committee, MLAs C.K. Nanu, K. Dasan, and P.T.A. Rahim had pointed out that the damaged seawalls and groynes were posing threat to hundreds of poor families living in the coastal areas. They had also complained that the situation had remained unattended for years, with the stretches turning vulnerable to sea erosion.
The damage to the groyne constructed using the Gabion technique along the coastline between Puthiyappa and Kothi bridge was projected as an important case to be addressed immediately. In his petition to the government, M.K. Raghavan, MP, had sought the intervention of the Irrigation Minister in the issue.
Meanwhile, Irrigation Department engineers have come up with a claim that the work is being delayed in some stretches due to reluctance of contractors. They also said that there was no positive response from contractors despite frequent tendering.
The shortage of granite stones for the fortification of seawalls and groynes was also projected as another major reason that reportedly pulled back contractors from taking up work. According to Irrigation Department sources, contractors are facing difficulties in getting the required stock and its shipping from quarries on a regular basis.
Rejecting the claims, District Collector U.V. Jose made it clear that there was no scarcity of stones. No complaint was heard from any corner about the matter, he said.
Considering the MLAs’ demand, Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan and Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran directed the Irrigation Department wing to look into the matter and find a solution at the earliest. They also asked the Collector to monitor the work after holding a meeting with the engineering wing.
