KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Ernakulam collector to convene a meeting between Irrigation Department officials and the Chellanam panchayat to make an immediate decision on expediting the placement of geobags along the Chellanam coast to prevent severe sea erosion.
The directive came during the hearing of petitions filed by Chellanam residents, who are seeking the swift completion of seawall work. The government pleader informed the court that work on placing geobags commenced last Saturday. The lowest bidder was instructed to start work, even before finalisation of the tender, due to the urgent need to complete the project.
However, the court noted that the current estimate suggests it would take four months to complete the geobag placement. Furthermore, it remains unclear how the contractor plans to carry out the work during the upcoming monsoon season, whether manually or with machinery.
The court expressed concern, stating, “It is clear that if the present state of affairs continued, no immediate short measures such as placing of geobags could be carried out.” The court then observed, “Let the district collector look into short-term measures and placement of geobags on an immediate basis, and how the disaster management authority expedites the works.”