KOLLAM: As monsoon intensifies, fishermen living in hamlets along Kollam are a frightened lot. The construction of a seawall along the coast was not in line with the proposals by administration. The unavailability of rock bolsters is a major issue in constructing sea wall, owing to the quarry ban in the district. Several families have left their homes to find rented homes to live in. The District Develo-pment Committee has also passed a resolution regarding the lack of availability of materials, including quarry gravel, for construction purposes that has stalled many developmental works in the district. It was also observed that the district administration failed to permit quarry operations citing environmental hazard. The resolution also points out that the scarcity of construction materials has affected works proposed under the development funds by people’s representatives.
The coastline along Kakkathoppu to Pallit-hottam in the district is the worst affected with over 300 families under direct threat from the sea. Several families were rehabilitated in the tsunami colony here. The sea has ‘eaten’ over 300 metres of shore in its fury along the Mundakkal coast, taking off the constructions at papanasam used for religious rituals. Two water tanks constructed by spending Rs 5 lakh to facilitate the believers for rituals were also destroyed in the sea wrath. The dredger ship Hansita that has been washed ashore at Kaleekkal shore on June 25 last year also adds to the woes of local residents. The ship has apparently triggered the formation of a new ridge along the shore causing huge waves to eat away the shore threatening the existence of houses in the area. The residents of Kakkathoppu had earlier staged several protests including a hunger strikes demanding immediate action as they had lost nearly 10 houses completely in the sea wrath caused by the ship.
