A fresh damage occurred to the retaining wall of the beach road here on Saturday. This time an 18-metre stretch of the wall, adjacent to the new year breach, was washed away in the day due to the rough seas.
The damage happening to a stretch very close to the main venue of the ongoing three-day Visakha Utsav raised an alarm among the officials. MP Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao rushed to the spot to inspect the damage and told the media that he would bring it to the notice of the Chief Minister and ensure that steps are taken to repair it on a war-footing.
City Police Commissioner Amit Garg, who inspected the site, directed the police officials to immediately cordon off the area to ensure no pedestrians or traffic is put to risk. Additional police forces would be deployed along the coast near the breach along with swimmers and boats to minimise the risk for visitors to the Visakha Utsav celebrations, he told media persons at the site.
Commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Pravin Kumar, who also visited the site, told mediapersons that as an immediate measure the breach would be plugged using boulders and gravel. Long term steps would be taken up in consultation with experts, he said. Since the Visakhapatnam Port Trust would be taking up dredging and beach nourishment starting February the problem would be addressed to some extent, he added.
The dynamic nature of the currents and wave direction beach erosion is a risk the city would have to live with. One option is to build a sea wall along the beach road to protect it, oceanographic expert and professor in Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering (Autonomous) Rao Tatavarti said after inspecting the site.
There is no quick fix solution for the beach erosion, there is a need for a comprehensive study of the data like wave motion and bathymetry before a permanent solution can be drawn up, he said.
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