KOCHI: To help the residents of Chellanam, who are facing the wrath of sea, the state government will implement the Model Fishing Village (Matsya Gramam) project of the fisheries department in the coastal hamlet. A high-level meeting of ministers held here on Thursday decided to launch Rs 18-crore worth of development works on a war footing to prevent sea erosion and natural calamities in Chellanam.
“The state government will also implement Rs 5,000-crore development work in coastal districts in a phased manner in the next five years,” Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian said. The minister along with Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Hibi Eden MP, Kochi MLA K J Maxi and other officers visited major streets in Chellanam, which faced severe damage during the recent rain.
The Matsya Gramam project mainly aims at overall development of coastal villages which include renovation of houses, providing uninterrupted potable water supply, improved sanitation, provision for health facilities, setting up of fish marketing centres and construction of fisheries schools.
The ministers collectively opined that once the project is implemented with the help of coordinated efforts by various departments, the issues being faced by Chellanam residents will be resolved. The managing director of Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation Ltd Sheikh Pareeth has been entrusted with the preparation of a feasibility study of the project at Chellanam. Two separate committees will be formed for the implementation of Matsya Gramam project. The general supervision of the project will be under the committee headed by Industries Minister P Rajeev while the technical aspects will be monitored by the committee headed by Pareeth, it was decided at the meeting.
The fisheries minister said that the Rs 2 crore allotted by the state government last week will be utilised for completing the repair of existing seas walls and other work. The remaining Rs 16 crore will be used for construction of Tetrapods to prevent erosion caused by weather and longshore drift. Tetrapods are made of concrete and are durable and offer more protection, according to experts. “The tender proceedings for the work will be completed before June 25. The cleaning of Vijayan Canal and Upputhodu will also be completed soon,” added the minister. The work on geotube wall will also be completed soon. Sand for filling geotubes will be made available from Cochin Port.
Earlier, before holding the meeting at Ernakulam Guest House, the newly appointed ministers visited Chellanam bazaar and other areas. District panchayat president Ullas Thomas, collector S Suhas and other officers accompanied them.