Kochi: The concerns raised by the residents of the coastal stretch of Chellanam over the temporary measures to prevent sea incursion have turned true yet again, days after ₹1.25 crore was allocated for placing geo-bags along the seashore in the area. The Chellanam coastal stretch continued to be battered by sea incursion on Sunday, even as works on placing geo-bags filled with sand were on in some areas.

Sea incursion was worst at Cheriyakadavu with waves invading the area, while places like Puthenthodu, Kannamaly, Kattiparambu and Kaithaveli were also breached on Sunday. Geo-bags installed on the coast recently were washed ashore, and water gushed into many households in the region. One house at Cheriyakadavu was destroyed in the sea incursion, local residents said. 

The Chellanam coastal stretch continued to be battered by sea incursion. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Chellanam coastal stretch continued to be battered by sea incursion. Photo: Special Arrangement

T A Dalfine, who has been leading a legal fight demanding the protection of the coastal belt from Chellanam to Fort Kochi, told Onmanorama that the situation at Cheriyakadavu was scary on Sunday. "No preventive measures can be implemented in the area at the moment. It’s too late. The sea incursion will be severe in the next few days. The geobags, which the authorities managed to install somehow in the area in the past few days, have already been washed away," Dalfine said.

A sum of ₹1.25 crore was allocated from the Kerala State Disaster Management Fund to deploy geo-bags to prevent sea erosion at a meeting chaired by District Collector NSK Umesh the other day. The collector had ordered that the works on laying geo-bags should be started before June 17 in four of the worst-affected points. 

The Chellanam-Kochi Janakeeya Vedhi had rejected the allocation, saying it was not adequate to cover the affected area, and it came too late. "The allocation is meant to install geo-bags along the 961-metre stretch from the north of Puthenthodu beach to Murthy temple. The affected area, however, runs into 7-8 km," said V T Sebastian, general convenor of the people’s forum.

The forum has been demanding that permanent tetrapods should be installed across the Chellanam stretch without delay.

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