THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After much hue and cry, a high-level meeting convened by Antony Raju MLA has decided to coordinate the construction and protection activities at Shankhumukham Beach — one of the popular beaches in the capital city.
The meeting has decided to prioritise protective measures to save the fast-eroding Shankhumukham Beach without it losing its tourism appeal.
The meeting discussed the proposals and recommendations put forward by the Public Works Department (PWD) and the technical suggestions given by M V Ramana Murthy, technical advisor to the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) and director of the Deep Ocean Mission. The fisheries and Irrigation departments jointly reviewed the proposals.
The major proposal under consideration for Shankhumukham is a shoreline protection project involving geotubes and sand nourishments. The Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation has proposed the installation of geotubes at a depth of 6 metres, 200 metres offshore, along a 1.5-km stretch of the beach for protection.
Additionally, the irrigation department has submitted a plan to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to construct two groynes -- one each on the northern and southern sides of the beach extending 235 metres from the coast and spaced 160 metres apart.
The PWD has also suggested increasing the length of the existing diaphragm wall as another defence mechanism to curb erosion. The meeting has assigned a high-level technical panel, guided by Ramana Murthy, to finalise and approve a viable plan and submit it to the state government.
A meeting of the panel members will be held within this month. The aim is to complete the project before the onset of the next monsoon season. To protect the existing Arattu Mandapam at Shankhumukham, the irrigation department has proposed the installation of a 120-metre geo-bag wall on its western side. The tourism department has been requested to grant immediate approval for this component, following the urgent submission of the proposal.