Sand bags to combat sea erosion in Kerala

September 20, 2013 02:46 pm | Updated June 02, 2016 01:43 pm IST - KANNUR:

District Collector Rathan Kelkar on the Muzhappilangad drive-in beach on Thursday. A portion of the seawall and seats were damaged in unruly waves on Wednesday.  Photo: S.K. Mohan

District Collector Rathan Kelkar on the Muzhappilangad drive-in beach on Thursday. A portion of the seawall and seats were damaged in unruly waves on Wednesday. Photo: S.K. Mohan

A wall of sand bags will be constructed as a temporary arrangement at Muzhappilangad beach, District Collector Rathan Kelkar has said.

The decision was made at a meeting convened by Mr. Kelkar at the Collectorate hall in Kannur on Thursday.

Earlier, Mr. Kelkar visited the Muzhappilangad drive-in beach, which was damaged due to sea erosion on Wednesday. The sea wall has been partially ruined while the seating facilities on the shore have also been completely damaged when water lashed the shore on Wednesday.

During his visit to the beach on early Thursday, it was decided that a sea wall of 20 metres length and 1.5 metres width will be constructed. This move has been opposed by the fisher folk, who say the wall constructed in a place used to dock fishing boats will obstruct their traditional trade.

Later, at the meeting, it was suggested that as a good portion of shore has been washed away by the waves, a detailed report on the steps to be taken should be studied and submitted to the government.

Decision towards a new fish-landing centre at the beach on the Edakkad region was also taken at the meeting.

Mr. Kelkar also asked for the handing over of 10 cents of land to the Fisheries Department for the purpose.

Possibilities for a breakwater to bring fishing boats to the shore will also be sought. The Harbour Engineering Department has been entrusted to carry out a detailed study on the issue.

Mr. Kelkar also sought commencement of construction of sandbags at the earliest at the meeting. The expenses for the same will be borne by the Youth Welfare Board, it was said.

Additional District Magistrate O. Muhammad Aslam, representatives of the fishing community, Harbour engineering department executive engineer and officials of the revenue and fisheries department were present.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.