Keralam Chief Minister to launch ₹93.22-crore coastal protection project for Pozhiyoor

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A house damaged from high tides at Pozhiyoor in Thiruvananthapuram. (File photo) | Photo Credit: PTI

The State government has announced a ₹93.22-crore project for protecting the coastal area of Pozhiyoor in Thiruvananthapuram district from erosion.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan will inaugurate the project on September 22 (Tuesday), which seeks to provide Pozhiyoor with a robust defence against invading waves using a combination of groynes, seawall and tetrapods, Water Resources Minister Mons Joseph said on Sunday.

Designed to be 1,700 metres long, the coastal defence system will offer protection to houses, roads and public facilities in the long term. In all, 11 groynes will be constructed as part of the project. The seawall will also have a 4.5-metre-wide concrete walkway atop it, Mr. Joseph said.

Severe coastal erosion along the Pozhiyoor, Kollengode and Parithiyoor stretch has been posing a threat to more than 3,000 families. The State highway passing through the area also had been damaged by waves. Local residents had petitioned the Chief Minister, Mr. Joseph, Fisheries Minister V.E. Abdul Gafoor and MLA N. Shakthan seeking a permanent solution to the problem.

Subsequently, the government decided that the ₹93.22-crore project will be implemented by the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation (KIIDC)—an Irrigation department agency—using Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) funds.

Mr. Joseph will preside over Tuesday’s function. Mr. Gafoor, Mr. Shakthan and Shashi Tharoor, MP, will be present.

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