THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “My daughter’s house nearly collapsed three days ago. Sea waves have reached my gate too. We don’t know how long it will take for it to claim my home too,” said Alphonsa, as she pointed towards her daughter Raji’s house in Valiyathura.
One of the many victims of the rogue sea, the house compound, which included an outdoor toilet and a dog kennel, was washed away by the waves that hit over the last two days. With the base of the house too partly swallowed by the sea, Raji and her husband Sajan’s home is now unfit for living.
The tragedy took place in the Thoppu area of Valiyathura, where the sea wall is under construction. Raji’s house was located in a stretch where construction had not yet started.
“At least 8 ft of the compound was washed away in the last three days,” said Jerome, Sajan’s father-in-law. “We made multiple requests to the authorities for a better housing facility, but in vain,” said Alphonsa. It’s not just Raji’s house, in Shankhumukham ward under the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, that has been affected. A provision shop owner in Valiyathura locality, Susemariya said sometimes, waves rise above his shop and that they are unsure of their fate in the coming days. Many houses near his shop have also been half eaten by the sea.
When contacted, Shankhumukham ward councillor Seraphine Fredy said people could have shifted much earlier. “People wasted time by taking the situation lightly. It is not a good practice to ask everything from the government and the corporation,” she said.
The irrigation department provides clay, sacks and manpower for the construction of the temporary sea wall. Some execution delays aside, the councillor expressed hope the wall will be built at the earliest.
Sea fury has also claimed both lives and property at Valiyathura, Beemapally and Poonthura wards, said a fisheries department official.
Vettucaud ward councillor Clinus Rozario said though there has not been any severe damage in the locality, the threat remains. He said he had held discussions with MLA Antony Raju on the issue.
An employee at the Pettah village office said this was the third layer of houses being damaged in recent years. “Some residents have already shifted,” said the staffer. The official, however, refuted allegations that rent distribution had been irregular in the last months.
Another source said several people who receive the rent amount haven’t shifted from risky areas, perhaps since the threat is only when the sea is rough and because the place offers ease in fishing.
Meanwhile, construction of flats for victims of the sea fury is on. “The complex at Muttathara will be inaugurated by the chief minister on June 27,” said Anilkumar S, the state coordinator of Punargeham relocation project, adding that around 332 families will receive keys to their flats at the ceremony. The project at Kadakampally is in the starting phase, said Anilkumar, while asserting that whoever has consented to shift will receive a flat.
However, Molly, another resident, expressed doubts. “Fisheries officials collected our details at least two years back. Still, our houses are being claimed by the waves every day,” she said. “High tides in monsoon season mean the sea taking away whatever it wants,” she sighed just before a wave splashed above her.