The draft white paper prepared by Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) which is implementing the Vizhinjam deep water multipurpose seaport on a PPP basis, stressed that erosion witnessed north of the under-construction Vizhinjam International Seaport cannot be attributed to the construction of the upcoming port.
The draft report was compiled by the VISL based on the findings of various agencies including the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) - which vets reports submitted by various agencies related to wave data collection, mathematical modelling and analysis of shoreline changes in regular intervals; National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) which studies the sediment cell and sediment budget around Vizhinjam coast, and other agencies.
The report will be submitted to the expert committee appointed by the State government to study the impact of the port on the adjacent coastline, after a formal vetting by the NIOT.
The expert committee headed by M.D. Kudale, former Additional Director, Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, will soon publish the white paper after going through the report and making necessary changes, if needed.
According to the annual reports submitted by NIOT, NCESS and other agencies, the shoreline analyses prior to and after the port construction show that the trend of erosion at the erosion hotspots like Valiyathura, Shangumughom and Poonthura is the same before and after the commencement of the port work. A plausible reason for the erosion at Valiyathura and its northern coastal stretches is the presence of the groyne field to its south (Poonthura to Beemapally), the draft report says.
After the Ockhi cyclone in November 2017, Valiyathura and Shangumughom coasts are subjected to high wave activity due to an increase in the number of storm events and cyclones, as a result of which, the earlier (prior to Ockhi) normal process of beach rebuilding during the fair-weather period (October to April) has not been happening, it observed.
Further, there are published reports that the extent of impact due to any construction on a straight coastline will be only within 8 to 10 times the length of protrusion. The breakwater of the port, which is situated inside a sediment cell, protrudes only about a kilometre into the sea. Therefore, the coastal erosion at Valiyathura and Shangumughom beaches, which are 13 km and 15 km away from the breakwater cannot be attributed to the construction of the upcoming port, the report said.
