On Friday, the 220th day of their indefinite relay strike demanding a permanent solution to sea ingress at Chellanam, the Chellanam Janakeeya Vedi held a Jalasamadhi on the seashore.
Father Samson Anjiliparambil inaugurated the day’s protest at Companypady, saying that the authorities had always turned their back on coastal people. In a coastal State like Kerala, Environment Day celebrations without thinking of coastal protection remained hollow, he said. The State was only focusing on stop-gap arrangements with sand bags readied just ahead of monsoon which would never permanently resolve coastal erosion, he observed.
The protesters, including Janakeeya Vedi chairperson Mariamma George Kurisinkal, were removed by the police for allegedly violating social distancing norms.
On the coast of the fishing hamlet, geotextile bag work to erect a defence against invading waves is still ongoing. The protesters said the government had promised to construct a seawall using geotextile tubes along the shore back in 2017.
The work could have been completed in a matter of a few months, but it was not done.
Even something as regular as arranging sand-filled bags to abate sea incursion had just begun, they alleged.
