A Kasaragod-based businessman has approached the State government seeking nod to construct cost-effective sea-wave breakers along the coast of Shangumugham Beach. He demonstrated a model at Nellikunnu in Kasaragod after obtaining the necessary permission from the State government. The project will cost only half of the present practice of protecting the coastline using granites and tetrapods.
Addressing a press meet in Thiruvananthapuram, U. K. Yoosuf, who claimed to have obtained a patent for developing the sea-wave breaker, said the State government had given permission to demonstrate the model a year ago as part of experimenting with a new model for finding a solution to the coastal erosion. “I could start the work on April 1, 2021, which was inaugurated by Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil. The work was completed it in just one-and-half months and dedicated to the State free-of cost.
Since then, the structure has been effectively withstanding the onslaught of lashing waves in the region, said Mr. Yoosuf. His structure was visited by a ministerial delegation from Karnataka and they assured him that they would experiment the same there, said Mr. Yoosuf. It is a concrete frame with rubble and gardens in between, which is built across the shore to protect the lives and properties of the fishermen living along the coastal strip, protecting the coastline from erosion.
This can be experimented in Shangumugham Beach where hundreds of crores of rupees are being spent by the State annually to protect the coastline from waves. Around ₹20 lakhs is required for construction per metre of groyne, while it would be ₹2.5 lakhs per metre of tetrapod. Whereas, the relatively eco-friendly sea-wave breaker designed by Yoosaf would require only half of the cost of the tetrapod project, said Mr. Yoosuf.
