The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Poonthura action council plans stir

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Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Poonthura action council plans stir

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Action Council for the Protection of the Poonthura Coast is embarking on an agitation demanding construction of a breakwater to check erosion, rehabilitation of families and construction of a seawall in vulnerable areas.

Chairman of the action council Father Santhappan and general convener A.Raymond told mediapersons here that about 300 houses along the coast were facing the threat of erosion during monsoon.

“As many as 18,000 people, including traditional fishermen and their families, live in the Poonthura village spread over just 0.8 km. A large majority of the residents depend on the sea for their livelihood. The scarcity of land and the increasing erosion have made life miserable for the residents,” said Mr.Raymond.

“In 2004, the government decided to construct a breakwater at Poonthura and relocate 300 families from the vulnerable areas of the coast. The District Collector was entrusted with the relocation. But the project is dragging on for the last three years,” he said.

The council pointed out that 44 houses were destroyed and 50 damaged by the sea this year. Thirty displaced families had been put up in thatched sheds.

Mr.Raymond urged the government to acquire the land identified for the rehabilitation project and take up the construction of houses with funds from the Tsunami Rehabilitation Project.

Mr.Raymond said the action council would launch an agitation if the government continued to turn a blind eye to its demands.

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