The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Safety at sea on Valiathura pier

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Safety at sea on Valiathura pier

Special Correspondent

The weak structure trembles as each wave crashes onto the pillars

— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

To the edge: A car enters the Valiathura pier in Thiruvananthapuram with total disregard for the danger involved in driving on the structure.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every evening, dozens of cars, autorickshaws and two-wheelers make a beeline for the dilapidated Valiathura pier. Throwing caution to the winds, these vehicles enter the pier and make their way right up to the unguarded edge of the weak structure which trembles as each wave crashes onto the pillars.

The occupants of the vehicles mostly include families out for an evening stroll or friends looking for something to while away the blues. These people stroll along the periphery, seemingly oblivious to the danger, to look at the local people using fishing lines or to watch fishermen launch their catamarans during the monsoon period when the rough sea makes the beaches inaccessible. The authorities have so far turned a blind eye to the dangerous routine. In the absence of lights, the entire structure is shrouded in darkness at night, making it all the more treacherous.

Local fishermen have been forced to carry out daring rescue acts to save people who fall into the sea from the exposed sides of the pier. Two months back, they had to rescue the occupants of an autorickshaw which plunged into the sea from the pier. The fishermen wonder why the authorities have failed to ban the entry of vehicles onto the weakened structure.

A few years back, one of the weakened piles on the right head of the 51-year-old pier developed a crack leading to the collapse of a platform measuring about 20 square feet. Local people allege that the piles had been weakened due to the lack of proper maintenance.

The Government had carried out major repairs including gunniting (spraying of liquid cement) on the weak sections of the pier. But officials admit that the constant buffeting by the seas had made it difficult to restore the weakened pier.

Earlier this year, the Harbour Engineering Department announced a project for reconstruction of the Valiathura pier. Thiruvananthapuram West MLA V.Surendran Pillai said the pier would be strengthened with concrete and provided with trolleys for fishermen to launch their catamarans. Lights would also be installed on the pier to help fishermen operate during night, he added.

The 703-ft pier and the godowns behind it are a far cry from the past when up to 50 cargo ships used to call here at a time. Opened in 1956 by the advisor to the Rajapramukh Dr. P.S. Rau, it was the only port along the South Kerala coast.

Supported by 127 concrete piles, the pier had four 3-tonne cranes and one 10-tonner to unload cargo from the ships. Since the pier was located in shallow waters, heavy ships had to anchor in the deep sea and transport their ware in smaller boats. With the development of the Kochi port with facilities for berthing of huge cargo ships, Valiathura lost its significance. It was declared a ‘dead port’ in the early eighties.

All five cranes were dismantled and sold as scrap as disuse and constant exposure to salty winds eroded their structure. The four godowns were rented out to industrial units on the Veli belt. The rails used by trolleys to transport cargo to the godowns have rusted away.

The strengthening of the pillars below the water level requires massive investment and technical resources as it will be necessary to insert metal sleeves and reinforce each pile after pumping out water.

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