MAYILADUTHURAI: After years of grievances by fishers in Chinnamedu village in the district to protect their shores from coastal erosion, a set of short groynes has been constructed at a cost of Rs 9.78 crore. The set of five groyne structures built over the span of three years was inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday. The completion of the project comes as a relief to over 350 families in the village st Sembanarkoil block who live by the shores. They complained that their shore had shrunk by several feet due to erosion. N Ramadas, a fisher-representative from Chinnamedu said, " We are concerned that the shores in the outer layers may erode. We request to ensure its protection as well."
The issue was particularly severe during the monsoon when fishers were unable to berth their boats at the shores due to the erosion. The villagers had also staged protests demanding redressal of the issue. Heeding to their demands, the fisheries department sent a proposal for the short groynes. The government order was issued in October 2020. However, the work began a year later, in October 2021 due to the pandemic. The project was funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Bank. The groynes are up to four metres in height from the water's surface and up to three metres in depth below the surface. These separate structures are designed to regulate wave movement between them. Each groyne is a ramp-like structure slowly ascending from the shore.
The Department of Ocean Engineering from IIT Madras gave their consultation for the project. Among the structures, two groynes in the outer layers are 20 metres long, two in the inner layers are 50 metres long, and the one in the centre is 100 metres long. All are perpendicular to the shore. The project also includes the completion of a fish auction hall for about 280 square metres. The fishers are requesting to add a net mending centre , fish drying platform, crematorium and an approach roads as well. An official from the fisheries department said, "We are sending a proposal to construct a rubble-mound seawall outside the outer layer on the northern side to arrest any erosion which may occur adversely due to the short groynes. We can also construct the net mending centre once we choose a land."