KOCHI: The two-day long protest in the Chellanam coastal area was withdrawn on Tuesday evening after the District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla promised to rebuild the geotube seawall. The fishermen residing in the coastal area had launched the strike with the members of the West Kochi Coast Protection Council (WKCPC).
The protestors said their demand for a proper seawall to prevent the attack of the rough sea was yet to be met by successive governments. The stone walls were not enough to overcome the withstand the sea attack. “Though the authorities concerned have promised us the geotube seawall at a cost of R8 crore would be constructed soon, the work is yet to be launched,” said a local resident.
In his meeting with the protestors, the District Collector promised the construction of the seawall using geotube will be launched by the end of June. He also said the four tenders in this regard are already been processed.
In the meantime, a three-metre-high sandbag will also be constructed along the stretch. The Collector also instructed the officers concerned to make sure the Vijayam canal and Uppathi canal were cleaned so as to enable the flow of seawater at the time of high and low tides.Earlier, the dawn to dusk hartal called by the WKCPC had been total in the area with all shops remaining closed and all vehicles staying off the road. Meanwhile, the waves continued to batter the coastline throughout the day and seawater continued rushing into the stretches where seawall have been damaged or been flattened by the waves.
The area witnessed tense scenes when the police arrested a few local residents staging a blockade at the Kandakadavu junction earlier in the morning. Hearing the news, the local residents rushed to the spot and prevented the police from shifting them to the police station. The situation later eased in the afternoon following a discussion between the protesters and government officers headed by the District Collector and City Police Commissioner M P Dinesh.
While the police said as many as 24 persons were taken into custody in connection with the protests and they were released after registering a case for rioting, the District Collector assured fishermen he will try his best to prevent the police from registering cases against the protestors. Kochi tahsildar Ambrose, Fr Antony Thachara, Fr John Kandathiparambil, Fr Stephen J Punnakkal and Fr Samson Anjilipparambil also attended the meeting.
Following the sea attack on Monday, over 200 houses have been completely flooded and rendered uninhabitable. As many as 600 families here have been on a strike path demanding permanent measures to prevent sea erosion in the coastal village during the monsoon season.The residents of Chellanam had suffered the most when Ockhi hit the coast in December last year. Though the authorities promised a comprehensive package including construction of a seawall and breakwaters and laying coir geotextiles to prevent sea erosion within three months to prevent further sea erosion, the project did not materialise.