KOCHI: The bane of seawater intrusion still bogs down the residents of Chellanam. Every time a cyclone brews, be it in the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal, residents of Chellanam have to brace for surging waves.
On Monday, residents of Chellanam, especially the Bazaar area, felt the after-effects of Cyclone Gulab that has developed in the Bay of Bengal. Though the storm made a landfall in Andhra Pradesh, it caused heavy rain across Kerala.
“Seawater is rushing into our properties,” said Jinson Veluthamannukal, member of Care Chellanam, an initiative of the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council. The situation is very severe in the areas between Control Point (CP) stone 996 and 997, he said.
“Even though the ministers arrived here and created a huge hype about the `344-crore project (to stop sea erosion), we are yet to see any work happening in the area,” he said.
According to him, there is no information about the Rs 2 crore that the state government had allotted for the temporary work like installation of geo bags and other safety measures. “The contractor who has been entrusted with the job is taking the shortcut. They have placed geo bags in areas that are not severely affected by sea erosion,” said Jinson.
After every cyclone, the state government and authorities concerned announce projects, he added. “One such project after Cyclone Ockhi was to build a stone wall in the area for Rs 1 crore. However, that plan was shelved later. Over the years we have heard a series of announcements and projects. But they all remained on the paper,” said Jinson.
“After Cyclone Tauktae, 13 houses were damaged in the Bazaar region. Two lives were also lost in the period since Ockhi due to sea incursion,” he said. “Even the latest project is destined to stay on paper for a long time and we will be left to our devices to tackle the sea erosion and incursion,” he added.