Sea erosion issue has plagued the people living in the coastal areas in Kanyakumari for years.
This year the 1.5-kilometer coastal road stretch between Thengapatinam and Mullurthurai coast in Kanyakumari district has been badly affected due to the sea erosion.
The sea erosion has been very intense that the bus services in the area have been stopped for the last three months. Most people in this stretch have to walk about two kilometers to reach the other areas.
“For the last 17 years, Thangapattinam has been facing problems due to sea erosion. Now, for the last three months, there is no public transportation available in the area. People have to walk about two kilometers and fishermen have to spend about Rs. 150 to take fish in auto from Thangapattinam to the harbor,” J Jorthan, District President, Tamil Nadu Fishermen Federation.
“Earlier, there were people living in Thangapattinam but many of them have shifted from there because their houses were damaged due to erosion. It is affecting close to eight fishing hamlets,” he explained.
He said that they have complained to the district authorities about the issue, but they kept saying that a proposal has been sent to the government. “The authorities need to take quick action,” Jorthan added.
“It is a natural phenomenon because the sea is very deep in that area. Due to this, the wave action is more. When there is more wave action, there will be more sea erosion. The government cannot do much about it. But they should avoid building artificial structures in that area; it is an eco-sensitive area. The government is also trying to build the Enayam port and it could increase the sea erosion,” he said.
“The government has sanctioned schemes to address the problem, we will start the work soon. From July to August, every year, the sea erosion appears in all these areas. We will be building rubble walls to reduce the effect of soil erosion,” the District Collector Sajjansingh, R. Chavan.
Last year, 150 houses were damaged in Eraviputhenthurai, a coastal village in Thoothur panchayat in Kanyakumari district.
In 2012, a study by the National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests revealed more than 41.4% of the 993.39km long coast of Tamil Nadu is vulnerable to erosion.
