KOLLAM: An Assembly committee on Wednesday visited Kakkathoppu here affected by natural calamities the beached dredger Hansita brought for nearly four months. Sea wrath and coastal erosion have damaged many of their houses, and they are now living in the tsunami flats here. The attempts to tow her off failed, and there is no move to find a permanent solution. “The preliminary inference is that the government should immediately intervene. We will set the agenda for further actions after the meetings on Nov 23 and 30,” M. Naushad, one of its members, said.
They visited people rehabilitated in tsunami flats at Dhavalakuzhi, Thanni, Valiyavila and Snehatheeram along the Eravipuram coast. They demanded immediate maintenance works on the dilapidated flats they live in. The Kakkathoppe Samrakshana Samiti said they could not come back and lead a normal life unless the dredger leaves the area. The panel headed by C. Krishnan with MLAs C.K. Nanu, K. Dasan, and M. Naushad as members, held a sitting with department heads on the issues of fishers in Kollam at the collectorate.
The ship stranded here on June 25 as a nightmare for the villagers. A new ridge it created caused massive waves eating away the shore threatening the existence of houses. The residents of Kakkathoppu had earlier staged several protests including a hunger strike demanding immediate action as they had lost nearly ten houses completely. Several attempts by the authorities to tow the ship off the shore have failed.
Technical issues forced the ship to anchor off shore near Kollam port three years back as its authorities failed to pay wharfage which had exceeded Rs 40 lakh. Hansita is a Chinese ship brought to Kollam port by the Indian company Megha shipping on March 26, 2013.
