The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has joined hands with Travancore Titanium Products Ltd. (TTP) to protect houses threatened by coastal erosion using special blocks made from red gypsum and cement packed in geobags.
Mayor K. Sreekumar inaugurated a pilot project using B-CAP (Block for Coastal Area Protection) at Vettucaud on Thursday in the presence of TTP chairman A.A. Rasheed and managing director Georgee Ninan.
B-CAPs have a long life and have been found ideal for the construction of railway platforms, roads, and houses, according to the TTP. For coastal protection, the blocks are filled in geobags manufactured by Coirfed and deposited around residences as a bulwark against the waves.
A by-product
Red gypsum is a by-product of titanium dioxide production. The ingredients of B-CAP are red gypsum (32%), sand (58%) and cement (10%), TTP officials said.
If the project is found successful, it would be extended to other stretches of the coast in the Corporation area, Mr. Sreekumar said. The blocks offer better protection to the houses than sandbags often used by the residents, he said.
Corporation ward councillors Solomon Vettucaud and Mary Lily Rajas, local parish authorities, and TTP officials were present.
