Kochi: A delegation of the residents of Chellanam, the coastal hamlet in Kochi that faces severe sea erosion, met Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Saturday urging the government to extend the proposed second phase of the Chellanam tetrapod seawall project up to Beach Road in Kochi to protect densely populated coastal areas from worsening sea erosion.

The residents under the banner of Chellanam-Kochi Janakeeya Vedhi met Satheesan at his residence in Desom, Aluva. The delegation submitted a memorandum signed by 919 residents, demanding that the entire 8.5-km stretch from Puthenthodu Beach in Chellanam panchayat to Beach Road in the Kochi Corporation limits be treated as a single project instead of being implemented in phases.

The residents argued that the 2.4-km stretch between Manassery and Beach Road currently has no active coastal protection project. They said the old seawalls in the area have either collapsed or sunk, leaving hundreds of houses situated close to the shoreline vulnerable to repeated tidal flooding and coastal erosion.

The memorandum pointed out that Chellanam and the adjoining northern coastal belt have witnessed severe shoreline erosion for years. It cited a study by the National Centre for Coastal Research, conducted on the directions of the Kerala government, which found that continuous dredging by the Cochin Port to maintain its shipping channel has artificially deepened the seabed off the Chellanam-Kochi coast. According to the study, the increased seabed depth allows incoming waves to gain greater energy, resulting in intensified sea incursions and accelerated coastal erosion.

The petition also noted that stretches between Beach Road and Fort Kochi, near naval gunnery school INS Dronacharya, have remained relatively stable due to the presence of groynes that trap sand, while other parts of the coastline continue to suffer heavy erosion.

Apart from extending the tetrapod seawall, the Janakeeya Vedhi sought scientific beach nourishment measures. The delegation urged the government to utilise the sand and silt dredged daily from the Kochi harbour channel to replenish the eroded Chellanam-Kochi coastline instead of dumping the material 10 to 20 nautical miles into the sea. They also demanded the construction of groynes at regular intervals using geo-tubes, granite stones, tetrapods or a hybrid combination of these materials to retain the replenished sand.

The memorandum recalled that the previous LDF government had completed the first phase of the coastal protection project at a cost of ₹347 crore, constructing a 7.36-km tetrapod seawall with a concrete walkway from Chellanam Harbour to Puthenthodu Gap and six groynes in the Velankanni-Bazaar stretch.

While administrative sanction has already been granted for a ₹404-crore second phase extending the tetrapod seawall by 6.1 km up to the Chellanam panchayat border, the Janakeeya Vedhi cautioned that ending the project at the panchayat boundary would merely shift the impact of strong waves to the unprotected Manassery, Saudi and Beach Road areas.

“The Chief Minister said that Kochi MLA Muhammad Shiyas had already brought this urgent matter to his attention. He said he had personally witnessed the heavily affected coastal stretches during last year’s severe sea incursions. He firmly promised that our demands would be considered favourably,” Janakeeya Vedhi General Convenor V T Sebastian said after the meeting.