Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has assured him that urgent measures will be taken by the government to tow away the dredger that is lying beached at Eravipuram for over a month, Eravipuram MLA M. Noushad has said.
The beached dredger has turned into a nightmare for local residents, as it was triggering unusual sea erosion problems there. Mr. Noushad in a statement said the Chief Minister assured him of this during a meeting on Wednesday. Mr. Noushad had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister and to Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma in this regard.
The Mumbai-based company that owns the dredger had earlier given an assurance to the district administration that the dredger would be cleared from the beach by July 21. But the dredger was still lying beached there, he said.
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The owners had given a contract to another company to tow away the dredger. But the company failed to do so. The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Nay had also informed that they lack the expertise to tow away the beached dredger. It was in this backdrop that Mr. Noushad requested the urgent intervention of the State government.
At the same time, the local residents alleged that the company owning the dredger had intentions of scrapping the vessel at the beach itself under the excuse that it was impossible to tow it away from there. They said under no circumstances would the company be allowed to do that since it could worsen the situation on the beach.
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Mr. Noushad also said his MLA office located at the Koloorvila Pallimukku market junction would be inaugurated by Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan in the morning on Thursday. CPI(M) district secretary K.N. Balagopal and former MP P. Rajendran will be present. The phone number of the office is 0474-2724222.
The MLA’s mobile phone number is 9447454097, Whatsapp number is 9947721287, and mail id ise-mail-eravipuramldf@ gmail.com. The office will be open on all working days from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., he said.
Dredger has been triggering sea erosion
Authorities had expressed unwillingness to remove it