Remedial measures initiated to check beach erosion

Municipal Commissioner says the exercise will give a breather

A heavy earth mover filling part of the footpath that collapsed due to high tide and beach erosion near Kursura Submarine Museum on the Beach Road in the city on Sunday. Photo: K.R. Deepak

After four days of surge of the sea and erosion of the beach creating a hazardous situation on the beach road near the Kursura Submarine Museum, remedial steps have been taken up.

Right from Saturday night, boulders are being dumped by the GVMC and the VUDA at the site of erosion caused by the surge of the sea. The process continued till late on Sunday evening. Boulders are being brought from Endada area and Port area to meet the contingency.

“Because of the remedial measures taken, we got a breather,” said Municipal Commissioner M.V. Satyanarayana said on Sunday evening. “This will give us sometime, up to two, three months, to consider permanent measures and take them up,” he said.

The views of experts at a meeting to be convened by the district Collector will be consolidated before the next phase of action.

Minister’s visit

The measures taken at Mumbai, Chennai and Goa to check sea surge leading to erosion will be studied and permanent measures taken to arrest it, Minister for Investment and Infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao has said.

The Minister conducted an emergency meeting with officials and later visited the Kursura Submarine museum area that has been witnessing erosion for the past five days leading to the collapse of the footpath.

The Minister directed officials to take up immediate measures to check the erosion besides working out permanent measures in view of the conflicting reasons being given out for it.

Experts of the National Institute of Oceanography were also pointing out at the change in the beaches at Rushikonda and Kailasagiri.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said the district Collector will convene a meeting with officials of Visakhapatnam Port, the GVMC and the VUDA, professors of Andhra University and experts from the NIO on the preventive measures to be taken.

The Municipal Commissioner and VUDA Vice-Chairman N. Yuvaraj accompanied the Minister.

Protest

With concern over the erosion increasing, members of BEAT, a wing of Youth India, went on a protest on the Beach Road demanding that public be taken into confidence and told why the erosion was taking place. M. Jagadish of the organisation demanded to know what would be the permanent measures in case the temporary ones failed.

N.B. Murthy of Green Pals Club wanted action to be taken in consultation with the Pollution Control Board and environmentalists.