Fishermen build temporary sea wall to check sea erosion

Fishermen build temporary sea wall to check sea erosion

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, June 18, 2020:   The fishermen families, including women and children, have built a 600 -metre-long temporary protection wall to check sea erosion from leaving a trail of destruction during this monsoon in Chitrapura on the outskirts of Mangaluru. 

 

When the work on the promised sea wall as a permanent measure to check sea erosion failed to take off, the fishermen families decided to take up the work on their own, to check sea erosion engulfing a large portion of the shore including properties owned by fishermen in the area.

Speaking to DH, Madhava Suvarna of Panambur Mogaveera Mahasabha said, “We worked in two batches with 200 people from 8 am to 6 pm daily since May 18. We had dug an eight-feet deep trench using an earth mover. Later, we placed around 350 to 400 jumbo size sandbags filled with sand in the trench. Each sandbag was filled with 3,000 to 4000 kg of sand.”

“On the jumbo sandbags, sand filled in around 12,000 small cement bags were placed for about two to three feet height. The sandbags were tied using nylon thread to ensure that it does not get eroded by the force of the water,” he said.

The temporary wall erected using boulders had washed away 70 to 75 feet of land last year. In addition, several coconut trees that were uprooted had also washed away last year. The sea erosion had even posed a threat to the compound of the Ranga Mandira of Mogaveera Sabha.

If the sea erosion continued this year, the Ranga Mandira would have faced the threat. On realising that permanent wall would not be a reality this monsoon, the residents in the locality contributed and decided to erect a temporary sea wall. The women and children joined hands to build a 600-metre long sea wall, said Suvarna.

“We are yet to calculate the total expense incurred for erecting the sea wall. When the area was affected by sea erosion last year, the then DK deputy commissioner had promised to take up work on a permanent wall,” he added.

The work on the sea wall was completed on Tuesday. Mangalore North MLA
Dr Y Bharath Shetty had visited the area when the work was in progress and assured to compensate the amount spent to erect the temporary wall. The MLA has promised to release around Rs 10 lakh for the same, said Suvarna.

Courtesy:Deccan Herald