A meeting of people’s representatives and senior Revenue Department officials in Fort Kochi on Saturday decided to immediately set up geotextile tube walls at Companyppady, Bazaar and Velankanni North in Chellanam panchayat to stop further erosion of the shores and prevent flooding of homes in those areas.
Those are the stretches of the coast worst affected by sea erosion in the panchayat, said K.J. Maxi, MLA. He said that he, along with John Fernadez, MLA, had met Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty and Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday to draw the attention of the government to the plight of the people of Chellanam after the geotextiles tube project was nearly abandoned.
Hibi Eden, MP, panchayat president Mercy Josey and vice president K.D. Prasad were among those who participated in the meeting along with representatives of Chellanam residents comprising Catholic priests Father John Kandathiparambil and Father Michael Punnakkal, representing the Paschima Kochi Theera Samrakshana Samithi; T.A. Dalphin, Babu Kaliparambil, and Jinson Veluthamannungal.
The geotextile tube work had been temporarily called off and the Irrigation Department had decided to call for fresh tenders to resume the works in September. However, the meeting on Saturday decided to speed up the establishment of the sand filled geotextile tubes at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the Paschima Kochi Theera Samrakshana Samithi has said that it will go ahead with the picketing of the Chellanam panchayat office on Monday in protest against the incomplete geotextile tube work.
The panchayat vice president said Chellanam residents had a relatively less anxious day on Saturday after nearly a fortnight of sea swells and high waves that had flooded about 60 homes. The sea was relatively calm on Saturday, he said.
