VILLUPURAM: Over 100 residents of Pillaichavady blockaded the East Coast Road near Kottakuppam on Wednesday morning, demanding the construction of a bait curve (a groyne or a wall to prevent repetitive motion of the waves) in their fishing hamlet. This comes in the wake of five houses being washed away due to coastal erosion over the past week.
According to local sources, over 100 families live in the hamlet near Kottakuppam in Villupuram, next to the Puducherry border. Due to erosion and the rough waves, the shore in the region rapidly shrunk, and the sea has swept away over 30 houses near the shore in the past decade.
"We have been urging the State government to construct a bait curve to stop erosion, in the past decade but no action was taken. Now, the erosion has reached the residential area. Luckily, no casualties were registered, as residents were already evacuated from the spot, " said V Manjula, a resident of Pillaichavady.
District collector D Mohan held a meeting with Pillaichavady village Panchayat representatives the same evening. "We explained the issue and the Collector assured us that the work would commence within a month, said V Mohan, a member of the village panchayat.
Speaking to TNIE, the Collector Mohan said, "The State Government allocated Rs 14.5 crore for the bait curve and other development projects in Pillaichavady. The works for this project will commence in November." A senior administration official added the tender was finalised in April, but it faced a delay due to a pending case in the National Green Tribunal related to guidelines to be followed.