THOOTHUKUDI: The Kulasekarapattinam village which is located along the beach has been eroded so badly that the compound wall and the play equipment of the children’s park have collapsed into the sea. Local residents have demanded immediate attention of the authorities to protect the historically important village before the sea advances further.
The coastal area of Kulasekarapattinam has been subjected to severe erosion for the past one year as the sea has been advancing. Over 100 metres of the coast at the northern part of the Kulasekarapattinam village have been severely eroded as the sea advanced over 20 m. Previously, violent waves devoured over 150 palmyra trees on the shoreline.
Environmentalists said the beach started facing erosion after the construction of the off-shore captive coal jetty to the north at Kallamozhi for serving the Udangudi supercritical thermal power plant. Also, the building of the groyne structures to the south at the nearby fishing hamlet, Manapad, has likely contributed to the erosion.
The children’s park on 45 cents was constructed on the Vadakur road in 2014. The play equipment here was revamped a year ago, and the compound wall was constructed only a few months ago. However, the violent sea waves damaged the eastern front of the compound wall, thus letting the sea advance further.
The park and the nearby parking area had been leased for three years at a cost of Rs 3 lakh in 2025 to generate revenue for the Kulasekarapattinam Panchayat. The lessee has stopped collecting fees from the visitors and those parking the car due to erosion, said sources.
A resident, A Sundar Ram, said that the sea had submerged over half of the children’s park now. “Still the waves continue to advance towards the land, and it may swallow the entire park in a few months if no action is taken to protect the coast,” he warned.
“The government should develop mangrove forests under CSR schemes to protect the Kulasekarapattinam coast,” Sundar suggested.
It is at the coastal area devotees converge to witness the “Soorasamharam”, the climax of the 10-day Dussehra festival. Even as the Dussehra is round the corner, no official has visited the eroding beach and the children park, said Kulasekarapattinam residents, seeking immediate action.
When asked, Thoothukudi District Collector Vishu Mahajan told TNIE that the adverse effects of the erosion have been discussed with the ocean engineering department of the IIT, Madras for a technical inspection at the Kulasekarapattinam beach. “Similar erosion is also seen at Vembar, Tiruchendur and other coastal areas, while there is sand deposition at Veerapandianpattinam and Manapad. So the whole coastal region has to be studied to arrive at a solution,” he said.
On the call for immediate action in view of the Dussehra festival, he said that the eroded part is far off from the main festival site. The construction of groynes will be considered following the technical assessment, feasibility study and cost estimate, he said.