KOCHI: In the middle of the road, over 50 people are sitting under a tarpaulin. No vehicles are allowed to pass until the demands of the residents — the ones who wail for a seawall — are met.
Frustration and anger are palpable on the faces of the residents here, who have called a hartal on Friday. Even the wind in Edavanakkad is eerie, bringing a sense of despair with it. Echoes of crashing, frothy waves are loud on the ears.
It’s been a week since the people of Pazhangad in Edavanakkad have been bearing the brunt of constant sea attacks. The waves continuously batter the crumbling 2.5 km-long sea wall, flooding homes and surrounding areas. Each day brings new challenges as lack of clean water and frequent power outages add to the rsident’s never-ending woe.
Panchayat president Aseena Abdhul Salam, who has been sitting at the ‘dharna,’ since morning, describes the misery of Edavanakkad, which has been raging for 20 years.
“The 2004 Tsunami claimed the lives of five people here. Since then, the coastal road and seawall have remained damaged, with no substantial measures taken to protect the coastline. Authorities have ignored our pleas for a road and strong seawall,” she says.
The protestors include those who stand in solidarity with the residents, too, she adds. “The entire village is united.” They have no plan to back down until officials responds with a solution to their plight.
“We are scared to sleep at night,” Vineetha Kalathithara tears up. She and her husband Venu’s house is now filled with sand up to the windows. “Since our house is vulnerable, we have moved to an abandoned building nearby. We have neitherelectricity or clean water,” she says.
The residents say that the waves grow stronger from the afternoon. In some areas, the seawall exists only in name and are submerged under the angry waves. Geo bags are laid in a few areas, however, they are also ineffective.
Homemaker Preethi Sanilkumar has sent off her college-going children to relatives’ places. And her neighbour Shalini Saleesh also has dropped her four-year-old son at a safer area. Some also built raised concrete steps to prevent water from entering home fronts. However, water is still seeping in through the back door flooding kitchens.
However, the residents are not ready to shift to relief camps or leave their homes behind and relocate. The state government has also offered `10 lakh for people to set up homes elsewhere.
“We are not going anywhere. Our livelihood depends on the sea. Also, the fund is not enough, it is not going to benefit anyone here. Forget a new house, with that amount we cannot even buy two cents of land,” says Sajeev Parithezhath.