THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said a scientific study on the impact of the Vizhinjam International Seaport on coastal erosion at Shankhumukham and Vettukad will be considered.
He was responding to the demand by Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth for a study owing to the repeated failures in controlling the coastal erosion in the two locations despite spending money on several projects. Prasanth made the demand even as the government is yet to release the M D Kudale Committee report on the seaport project’s impact on the adjoining coast.
The fishermen community led by the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram have been demanding that the government release the report and discuss its points along with a parallel study conducted by experts assigned by them.
A scientific study of the project’s impact had been one of the seven demands raised by the archdiocese during its protest in 2022.
As per the shoreline changes assessment by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Kerala had the second highest coastal erosion (46%) in the country after West Bengal.
The minister spoke about the emergency measures adopted by the irrigation department to save houses along the Vettukad coast using geo-bags. He also said a 1.10-km-long stretch at Poonthura will be handed over for a geo-bag-based coastal protection project and administrative sanction will be accorded to protect the coast at Shankhumukham.
Neyyattinkara MLA K Ansalan complained of delay in addressing the coastal erosion on the Pozhiyur-Kollamkode stretch, one of the hotspots.