The district administration has mooted a project worth ₹343 crore to build seawalls and breakwaters to protect Chellanam even as residents of the coastal village continue to complain of sea erosion threat.
The project is proposed to be implemented with funds from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), said a communication from the Public Relations Department.
Residential areas in Chalakkadavu, one of the most vulnerable places in Chellanam panchayat, were flooded during high tide on Tuesday.
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Residents of the area had protested against ‘official inaction’ on Monday morning by temporarily blocking traffic on the Fort Chellanam-Cherthala road even as the district administration said works worth ₹3.22 crore had been completed to erect structures like geotextile tubes to prevent sea intrusion.
Jinson Veluthamannungal, a resident, said that there was no change in the volatile situation in the panchayat as it faced heavy rain and rough sea.
The communication from the district administration said geotextile bags had been erected for 100 metres each in Kannamali and Chalakkadavu and for 70 metres in Malakhappadi.
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These are some of the most vulnerable areas in Chellanam panchayat. Works worth ₹1.75 crore had been carried out for erecting geotextile bags along Bazaar, Companippadi, Cheriyakadavu, Vachakkal, Kandakkadavu, Reethalayam, Deepti Anganwadi and Puthenthode segments.
However, Chellanam Janakiya Vedhi’s V.T. Sebastian alleged that lives and property of people still remained under threat from high waves and flooding.
He alleged that the district authorities were not actually looking into problems of people but only announcing projects that did not see proper implementation.
The district administration said that geotextile bags worth ₹30 lakh had been handed over to Chellanam panchayat for carrying out coastal protection works, and the District Collector had ordered the Irrigation Department to submit a report on the works carried out in the panchayat.
The department carried out works worth ₹25 lakh to desilt stormwater drainage systems like the Vijayam Canal and Uppathkkad in Chellanam following cyclonic storm Tauktae. Similar works worth ₹35 lakh had been carried out on Vypeen Island.
Works worth ₹8 crore for geotextile tube erection have begun in Vachakkal, Cheriyakadavu and Companippadi, while breakwaters have been built off the Edvanakkad coast in Vypeen. Coast protection works have also been carried out at the Rakteshwari beach and Veliyanparambu on Vypeen Island.