The coastal villages of Akkaraigori, Singarathope and Sonankuppam in Old Town here are facing a grave threat from the advancing seawaters.
These fishing villages are sandwiched between the Uppanar (backwater) and the Bay of Bengal. The residents fear that if sea erosion is not swiftly arrested, their habitations will soon be swamped by seawater. Recently, a community hall close to the shore at Akkaraigori became unusable.
Mere dumping of sandbags on the shore, as it is done to plug the breaches in riverbanks and lake bunds, will not help because they will be swallowed by the sea in no time in the case of turbulence. The fishermen have made many representations to the authorities, pressing for either a groyne or a rubble-mounted sea wall.
Tamil Nadu Meenavar Peravai president M. Subbarayan told The Hindu that ever since the December 2004 tsunami, the entire coastline in Cuddalore district had undergone a vast change. The tsunami washed away a large volume of sand that had earlier served as a protective wall. “With every storm or cyclone, and even during high tides, seawater surges into the land,” he said.
For instance, a coconut grove over 400 metre on the Thazhanguda coast, which acted as a windshield and a buffer area between the sea and the fishing village, has shrunk to a narrow sandy stretch, without most of the trees. The fishermen were finding it difficult to even safely berth their boats and leave fishing nets on the shore. At Periyakuppam, the net-mending shed was either pulled down or washed away recently. Therefore, the authorities should take foolproof measures to safeguard the fishermen, their assets and livelihood, Mr. Subbarayan said.
