Chavakkad, residents have demanded a lasting solution for the problem.
Existing sea walls were proving inadequate to protect the shore, said
Ummer Kunji, president of the Kadappuram panchayat, one of the
worst-affected panchyats in the district. "Even after three decades of
effort to protect the shore with sea walls, the 1 km-long shore of the
panchayat had been reduced to just 50 meters," he said. Attempts to
form a green wall with casuarinas are not yielding results as the
lashing tidal waves are uprooting most of them. "A groyne (pulimuttu)
is the permanent solution for sea erosion. Though Kadappuram panchayat
has been progressing in many sectors, sea erosion and related issues
are adversely affecting the panchayats socio-economic development,"
Mr. Kunji pointed out. A groyne is a rigid structure built from the
sea shore that interrupts the water flow and checks sea erosion.
Though a project has been ready to rehabilitate flood victims under
tsunami rehabilitation project, the families are not ready to move
away from their houses along the beach. In Kadappuram panchayat
alone, 100-odd houses are flooded and damaged in this season's rain.
More than 300 coconut trees have been uprooted. On Wednesday, three
houses were damaged in Vadanappilly panchayat. Property worth Rs.43.5
lakh was destroyed in monsoon rain in the district. In all, 243 houses
were partially damaged and 10 totally damaged. Seven persons died and
crops worth Rs.26 lakh were destroyed.
The Hindu, July 9
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