PUDUCHERRY: Fishermen and farmers in Bahour commune have raised concerns over the severe coastal erosion along the southern coast of Puducherry in Murthykuppam-Pudukuppam, Nallavadu and Panithittu.
The fishing villages of Moolavalli and Pudukuppam in the commune, which adjoin Cuddalore district, have started eroding heavily after the district administration's nod to dump rocks at Thazhanguda for the construction of a fishing harbour there at the mouth of Then Pennai River.
According to V Chandrasekhar, president of Bangaaru Vaickal Neeraadhara Koottamaippu, the rocks have blocked the littoral drift of coastal sand movement and led to erosion. He said this would not just affect the fishing hamlets, but also might render farmlands saline and infertile.
J K Jayakodi, a fisherman from Pudukuppam, said, “Already the sea has come closer by 200 metres due to erosion over the last few years. Now, it is happening fast. If the sea comes further closer, we cannot go fishing,” he said. As a solution, the fishermen have been demanding construction of mini fishing harbours by securing a portion of the coast with groynes.
While the proposal for a fishing harbour at Pudukuppam was disallowed on environmental grounds by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, another one is now proposed at Panithittu at the mouth of river Malatar.
It is well known in the UT how the Puducherry port had resulted in the erosion of the beach in the town area. With the sea protection wall on the coastline obstructing the sand movement, beaches on the northern side at Kottakuppam, Bommaiyarpalayam, Chinna Mudaliarchavady, Auroville have all been eroded.
The proposed fishing harbour in Panithittu will worsen the situation further and completely erode the sand dunes of the region causing salt water intrusion into the coastal aquifers as has happened at Puducherry town. Chandrasekhar said in places like Muthialpet, Solainagar, and Vaithikuppam, the TDS levels (total dissolved solids) of water have shot up above 3,000 (above 300 is not good for drinking).
'Groynes not the solution'
TP Raghunath of Alliance for Good Governance, said only a scientific approach could prevent the erosion. "Construction of groynes to secure an area is no solution at all. If you create one structure, it will have a cascading effect and erode the areas north of it. We need to approach the issue much more rationally and scientifically. It needs to be tackled through regional planning between the TN and Puducherry governments and the Auroville foundation."
Chandrasekhar said the Puducherry government should urge the TN government to drop the fishing harbour project at Thazhanguda. At the same time, the UT government also needs to shelve the Panithittu fishing harbour project as it might lead to a complete erosion of the remaining coast line in Puducherry and endanger the livelihoods of the fishermen. He urged the Lt Governor to take measures in this regard.