KOCHI: Relief received in bits and pieces is not quite helping the people in the coastal village of Chellanam. Government allocated funds in different budgets and also announced packages for seawall, geo bags and rehabilitation of the people there. Fishers for ages, their lives are so much connected to the sea. Theirs is a struggle to live, work and sleep under a safe shelter.
“We just now returned from the camps, but many do not have the option to go back to their houses as they are either fully destroyed or in bad condition. More than 1,000 houses have been destroyed. Members of several families are staying in different houses with their friends and relatives. We do not know when they will reunite,” said Peter Jithin, a resident of Chellanam that was hit hard by the heavy rain and wind triggered by Cyclone Tauktae.
Peter was one of the members of the ‘Coastal Army’ that went to the flood-affected areas in 2018 with their boats on lorries and rescued hundreds who got stranded. When he and fellow villagers are suffering, hardly anyone seems to be listening to their cries for help.
He said the villagers lost everything to the raging waves. “All furniture and even kitchen utensils were washed away. Not even a spoon is left in my house. Soon after the Ockhi tragedy, `135 crore was sanctioned for laying geo tube on the coastal line. In hindsight, that was a failure. Instead of preventing erosion, it caused more erosion as rocks were also removed in those areas,” he said.
CALL FOR PERENNIAL SOLUTION
Fr Dr Johnny Xavier Puthukkattu, PRO of Kochi diocese and a member of Pashchima Theera Samrakshana Samithi and Care Chellanam, said allocation of funds in parts will not serve the purpose. Instead, there should be a comprehensive plan to ensure a permanent solution to the sufferings of the people of the village. “There has been a failure in maintaining the seawall every year. Along with that the long-pending demand for a pulimutt (rock path that leads far into the sea) from Fort Kochi to Andhakaranazhi, is not yet met.
Dredging also caused a change in the character of waves and increased their impact on the shore. When new harbours are constructed without conducting a comprehensive study, it is very likely to affect the neighbouring shores. Fr Johny added the government plan to rehabilitate the people on the shores was not practical, as the rule stipulates that people having at least four cents of land will get `10 lakh to build a house elsewhere in Kochi. “The land prices are so high that they would not be able to do it. Another factor is that they have been fishers traditionally and their lives are so much connected to the sea. They cannot leave the shore,” Fr Johnny said.
PULIMUTTU WILL BE A REALITY: MLA
MLA K J Maxy said the government would consider constructing pulimuttu in the area. “We are working on a war footing to restore the lives of the people at Chellanam. In the chief minister’s 100-day programme, `16 crore was allocated and since the LDF has retained power, it would not be a problem to use that fund. Instead of granite, tetrapod technology will be used to protect the seashore,” he said. Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday decided to study how tetrapod technology can be used effectively to prevent coastal erosion in the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed officials to study the technology in detail and utilise it in the state. Instead of boulders, tetrapods are laid to construct groynes. The water resources department has been asked to do the follow-up.
On Monday, an emergency meeting was convened in Thiruvananthapuram, attended by ministers P Rajeeve, Saji Cherian, Roshy Augustine, Antony Raju, MLAs Maxy, P P Chitharanjan, additional chief secretary T K Jose and coastal authority MD Sheik Pareeth to discuss the destruction faced by Chellanam.The additional chief secretary (water resources) has been asked to hold discussions with officials concerned at least twice a month and report the progress to the chief secretary.
A135 crore was sanctioned for laying geo tube on the coastal line soon after he Ockhi tragedy.People claim that this caused more erosion due to removal of rocks