KOCHI: Frothing waves pound the old seawall at Veliyathamparambu in Nayarambalam panchayat, Vypeen. The dry breeze here carries a sense of despair. And, remnants of houses ruined by the fury of nature add to the eeriness.
Some metres away, V Gopi, 80, stares at me from the compound of his small, pucca house. I walk towards him and initiate a conversation. He remains phlegmatic and points to the debris of a house that once stood near the seawall.
“A lifetime of hard work was taken away by the sea, just like that,” he says. Gopi’s house was destroyed in a ‘sea attack’ eight years ago. “The huge waves came and washed away the foundation of the house. It just caved in,” he says, his gaze fixed on the rubble. “Seeing what used to be my home once in ruins hurts.”
Though Gopi’s current house is away from the seawall, rains, floods, and cyclones are still a threat. “My heart skips a beat whenever there is sea turbulence or a rise in water level. Strong waves can smash through the seawall any moment and destroy this house, too. We don’t have any other place to go,” he says.
Notably, there was governmental intervention before Cyclone Tauktae battered Veliyathamparambu. “Under the supervision of MLA S Sarma, the irrigation department spent about `10 lakh to reinforce some parts of the seawall. It survived for hardly a month; the structure collapsed,” says Nayarambalam panchayat president Neethu Binod.
The fear of the waves is not confined to Veliyethamparambu. Residents of almost all areas on the 25km coastline of Vypeen live in perennial worry over high tides. The 2004 tsunami claimed five lives and left a trail of devastation on this island. However, according to the residents, the authorities have failed to reconstruct or properly reinforce the seawall, which was built decades ago.
In areas such as Edavanakkad and Aniyil, for instance, the seawall exists only in name. It is dilapidated and offers zero protection. Though the authorities surveyed these areas, no concrete plan has been initiated yet, say the residents here.
Fed up with the official apathy, the residents themselves set up sand bunds to block the waves. “We had to do something to protect ourselves. We are tired of waiting for the authorities to act,” says Suresh, a fisherman. “Usually, tides are at their worst during July and August. So we decided to build these structures ahead of the monsoons.”
‘Don’t neglect fisherfolk’
Instead of introducing scientific measures to allay the fears of being wiped out by the sea, the residents say, the state government has offered Rs 10 lakh for people to set up homes elsewhere. “The offer has been in place for a while now,” adds Suresh. “The government wants to relocate us. But, we are not going anywhere — our livelihood is dependent on the sea.”
At Edavanakkad, houses and a groin were built using rehabilitation funds allocated after the tsunami. “But after the Tauktae cyclone, parts of the seawall were destroyed. The government should not neglect the fisherfolk, who came to our aid during floods,” says Edavanakkad panchayat president Iqbal V K.
Residents also highlight the condition of Beach Road at Edavanakkad. Well, the ‘road’ does not exist anymore. It’s buried under almost six feet of sand. “Whenever the waves breach the sea wall and sand bund, they leave behind sediments. Over time, these sediments have fully buried the road,” explains Venu, a resident.
Another resident, Vasanthi, adds, “In case of medical emergencies, we depend on boats now. When my daughter went into labour, we had to walk quite a distance to get a vehicle.” The residents demand stronger groines and seawalls. “The structures should be regularly reinforced,” says Kunjappan, quivering in rage. It seems to be justified anger. Sand deposit has risen till the windows of his house.
“The Rs 10 lakh assistance (under the Punergeham project) is not going to benefit anyone here. With that amount, we would be able to buy hardly two cents of land. This is our kadalamma (the Mother Sea), we are not going to leave this place. The government needs to do better,” says Kunjappan.
In stark contrast to the billowing anger, a little away from the coast, Vypeen-based techie-turned-environmentalist Manoj I B is calm and smiling. Groines or seawalls are not permanent solutions, he believes.
“The structures are necessary, for sure. But, in the long run, their bases would erode, causing fissures,” says Manoj. The solution could be a “biological wall”, he adds. “A biological wall with the native plants such as pupparutti, Indian almond coconut and punna, along with mangroves on the marshy stretches, could make a huge difference. More like a mini forest resisting the waves,” he says.
What the authorities say
“Vypeen is not considered a hotspot -- yet,” says a top irrigation official, requesting anonymity. “Chellanam is a hotspot, and tetrapod-laying work is under way there.” Based on a design approved by the Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune, a proposal for seawall construction for the whole of Vypeen coastline -- costing C 92 crore -- has been sent to the higher-ups. “But we have not got financial sanction,” he says. The official believes Vypeen would need a “more advanced” seawall design. “For that, bathymetry survey needs to be done first. A proposal of I36 lakh for that, too, has been submitted,” he says. For emergency work ahead of the monsoon, yet another proposal worth C1.5 crore was also submitted. “We are yet to get a response from the top,” he says.