The shock and awe from cyclone Ockhi have prompted a fishermen’s group to call for a reassessment and re-determination of areas that are vulnerable to sea erosion as well as the preparation of a land use master plan to help zoning, which will allow land utilisation with a view to long-term safety and sustainability of the marine fishing community. The Kerala coast is no longer safe for fishing activities as it used to be in past and the strengths and weaknesses of the present policies to protect the coast from sea erosion must be evaluated, said Charles George of Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi (united fishermen’s forum) on Tuesday lining up a number of steps that are immediately needed to protect the fisher folk from ever growing swell of the sea. The Department of Irrigation listed 21 areas that are seriously susceptible to sea erosion in 1986, he said and pointed out that since then no action had been taken forward on coastal vulnerability. He also said that the polemics on the effectiveness of seawalls and breakwaters as a comprehensive solutions go back to the 1920s when the Cochin Port was built under the leadership of Sir Robert Bristow. It was then predicted that coastal stretches towards the south of the port would be affected, he claimed. Funds for groynes An official of the Department of Irrigation, which has been erecting seawalls across the coastal stretches in Kerala, said that the coastal wing of the department has been keenly looking at the coastal vulnerability and suggesting ways to overcome the problem. He said that the department had sought special funds to build four groynes out of a total of six that were suggested to be built off the Nayarambalam coast after the December 2004 tsunami. Two of the groynes were built and the remaining four would involve a cost of nearly Rs. four crore, the official said. The fishermen’s forum also called for the preparation of a land use plan in the coastal areas for the long-term safety of the fishermen’s houses and families. A coastal management policy has not been drawn up even as people build houses at places that are convenient to them without a thought about their safety and sustainability, Mr. George said. The authorities must also draw up a housing pattern and technology that will help reduce the sufferings and losses of the coastal people in the wake of the sea getting rough. The extent of the damage caused by cyclone Ockhi is obvious 1,700 houses have been partially damaged while 72 houses have been fully damaged, he said.The Kerala coast is no longer safe for fishing activities as it used to be in the past Charles George, Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi
2017, The Hindu