The Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) on Monday started the annual beach nourishment works at RK Beach near the NTR statue here. To dump about 2 lakh cubic metres of sea sand on the shore at RK Beach, the VPA awarded the work to Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCI) for ₹20 crore. The work which started on Monday will be completed in another 30 days.
VPA Chairman K. Rama Mohan Rao inaugurated the works.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Mr. Rao explained that beach nourishment is a regular activity of the VPA as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As the wind pattern changes twice a year during the southwest monsoon and northeast monsoon, the sandy material on the beach is eroded. This result in erosion of the beaches, he added.
To protect against the beach erosion, the VPT will spend ₹20 crore of its CSR funds for beach nourishment works in Visakhapatnam this year. As beach erosion is not limited to the city, VPT and DCI are ready to take up the same work in other beaches of the State if the government directs them to do so with allocation of necessary funds, Mr. Rao added.
For this year’s work, the DCI deployed Dredge XIX to work in the sand trap area, pumping the dredged material through floating pipelines to RK Beach, 4 km from the VPA channel. The entire stretch of the Visakhapatnam city coast needs at least 30 to 40 lakh cubic metres of sand for beach nourishment.
About 10,000 tonnes of sand is pumped daily, and nearly 40% of the month’s work cost of ₹20 crore will be spent on fuel for the dredger, a DCI officer said.
