M'lore: Nightmares of Sea Erosion Come Alive - Protective Wall Washed Away
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (MSP)
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Mangalore, Jun 5: The people living on the edge of the sea, most of whom are fishermen, have an enemy at their thresholds to handle. The realization that the monsoons are fast approaching has given rise to a lurking fear in their stomachs and wrinkles on their foreheads. Their thoughts are now about the prospects of the nightmarish sea erosion that can gnaw at their compound walls, fell their trees and force the walls of their houses to collapse, rendering them homeless and penniless.
The nightmare of the seashore residents turned to reality when the protective wall meant to keep away sea erosion was washed away following heavy rains even as the monsoons began just a couple of days ago.
The government on its part has not done much, other than conducting studies on ways to prevent sea erosion, and start dumping truckloads of boulders at the seashores during the monsoon months although time and again this method has been proved futile and the boulders get drafted into the depths of the sea within weeks. Crores of rupees that have been spent by the state and the central governments have literally gone down the drain and the help people got out of this exercise has been meagre, if not totally absent. Those residing by the seashore are not averse to witnessing the increased roar of the sea and upheavels caused by the winds in the sea during the monsoon months. They shudder at the prospect of the surging sea lapping up whatever they have earned so far and endangering the lives of themselves and their family members.
Whatever the government has done so far, has only resulted in spending the tax payers' money in vain, as the boulders heaped by the seaside slip away in no time. As such, these families have not been able to find solace in the belief that the government would be able to thwart the menace, based on their past experience.
Buoyed by speeding gales, giant-sized waves start threatening the people living on the shores during the rainy season, and the dangers posed by the surging sea has been considerably acute in places like Kotepura Kody, Ullal, Mukka, Suratkal and Mukka. The residents are particularly peeved at the attitude of the officials of the department concerned who sit up and take notice only after the monsoon arrives. Although the rocks they stack every year on the coastline are gulped by the sea, it appears, they do not have any inkling about the possibility of seeking recourse to any alternative methods. It may be recalled that a few years back a delegation of ministers and officials had visited France to undertake a study of the successful sea erosion management methods followed by that nation, but nothing is known as to what they did or learnt there.
If a permanent solution eludes the government, can it not think in terms of rehabilitating these residents some distance away from the sea, at a higher and safer altitude. Moving them far away is impractical, as they have to venture into the sea in the wee hours every day and fishing has traditionally been their lifeline.