Centre Approves ₹323 Crore For Protection Wall Along Uppada Coast

Kakinada:Kakinada Lok Sabha member Tangella Uday Srinivas on Tuesday said the central government has approved a ₹323 crore project for building a protection wall along the Uppada coast falling within the Pithapuram assembly constituency.

Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan represents this constituency.

The MP asserted that completion of the wall will provide a permanent solution to prevent erosion of the Uppada coast.

The coast is believed to have gradually eroded as it is regularly hit by huge waves. It has been eroding at an average rate of 1.23 metres every year for three decades. In 2017–18 alone, it had eroded with 26.3 metres of the coast merging into the sea.

This has seriously affected the livelihoods of fisherfolk in the coastal villages of Uppada, Nemam, Ameenabad, Subbampeta and Komaragiri. The erosion has also led to roads in the area getting damaged, leading to disruption of traffic.

Udaya Srinivas the AP DM has taken up the issue of finding a permanent solution to prevent coastal erosion with the Home ministry. Pawan Kalyan has also written to the National Disaster Management Authority in this regard.

The MP disclosed that the National Centre for Coastal Research in Chennai has prepared the proposals for the construction of a permanent protection wall based on tetrapods at a cost of ₹323 crore. The proposal will come up before a sub-committee on June 30 in New Delhi, he added.