Kochi’s Chellanam residents welcome ₹404 crore seawall Phase 2, but urge key design changes

Kochi: For the residents of Chellanam, who have watched the sea steadily claim land for decades, the state cabinet's clearance for the second phase of the tetrapod seawall project has come as a long-awaited assurance of protection. At the same time, community groups have made it clear that while they welcome the decision, they want crucial scientific and design modifications to ensure the project delivers lasting relief.

The cabinet has granted administrative sanction for Phase 2 of the Chellanam tetrapod seawall project, earmarking ₹404 crore for the construction of a 6.1-km protective barrier. With this, the total public investment in shielding the vulnerable coastline rises to nearly ₹751 crore, including the ₹347-crore first phase completed in 2023. The work has been entrusted to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) on a nomination basis, with a mandate to complete the project before the next monsoon intensifies.

LDF leaders hailed the approval as evidence of the government's resolve to address a problem that had remained unresolved for generations. Industries Minister P Rajeev said the State was investing an average of over ₹66 crore per kilometre to fortify the coastline. "This is a project that remained impossible even when the same political parties held power in both the State and the Centre," Rajeev said. He added that the LDF government was moving ahead with "sheer willpower" despite the absence of financial support from the Union Government for coastal protection.

Kochi MLA KJ Maxi placed the decision in a longer historical context. "The issue of coastal erosion in Chellanam has a history of over a hundred years. It took the LDF government to finally realise the completion of the Kochi coastal protection sea wall," Maxi said.

For the local community, the cabinet nod is also a validation of sustained public agitation. The Chellanam-Kochi Janakeeya Vedi has been staging a relay protest for 2,278 days since October 2019, demanding a permanent solution to sea erosion. Its general convenor, VT Sebastian, welcomed the decision as a "victory for people's struggle," saying it would finally bring relief to thousands of families who have lived in constant fear of seawater entering their homes.

However, Sebastian and other community leaders stressed that the welcome was cautious. Residents have flagged that the present design may not be adequate to counter long-term erosion unless modifications are made. A key concern is the removal of nine groynes from the original design between Puthenthodu and Kannamali. According to the Janakeeya Vedi, years of dredging by the Cochin Port have deepened the nearshore seabed, increasing the force of incoming waves. Without groynes to arrest sediment loss, and without utilising dredged soil for beach nourishment, they fear that a seawall alone may struggle to withstand sustained wave action.

There is also anxiety about the project's limited reach. As Phase 2 ends at Manassery, the coastal stretch further north, up to Fort Kochi under the Kochi Corporation, remains unprotected. Community representatives warn that such partial coverage could create a “funnelling effect”, redirecting the sea’s force towards unprotected areas and exposing them to heightened erosion.

Beyond protection, residents are pushing for changes that would safeguard livelihoods and improve the coastal ecology. "Instead of a continuous wall, a U-shaped seawall sections at major fishing landing centres such as Puthenthodu and Kannamali, should be constructed, allowing safe entry and exit for fishing boats. Also, they should install concrete pipes with shutters beneath the seawall," Sebastian said. 

Explaining the idea, Sebastian said the system would allow controlled intake of seawater during high tides, helping flush stagnant inland canals and improve water quality and fish stocks in the backwaters of Kumbalangi, Edakochi and Aroor.

As ULCCS prepares to mobilise for construction, residents say they want the government to incorporate these scientific and community-driven suggestions and execute the project on a war footing, ensuring the coastline is comprehensively secured before the monsoon returns.