The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Project to check beach erosion awaits nod

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Project to check beach erosion awaits nod

Staff Reporter

Pallam Raju inaugurates water management training school

Project work to begin after getting approval
Great significance to east coast: Union Minister

Kakinada: The Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) has recommended the use of ‘geo-tubes’ to mitigate beach erosion at Uppada village.

A two-km long structure of tubes, made of soil-tight geo-textiles filled with dredged soil, has been proposed to be built at a cost of Rs 12.16 crore. The project work will commence as and when the CWPRS gives the technical nod, according to Union Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju.

Constant threat

Speaking to reporters at Suryaraopeta village in Kakinada rural mandal after inaugurating a training centre of the District Water Management Agency (DWMA) on Sunday, Mr. Pallam Raju said that Uppada and the adjoining villages face constant threat from the surging waters of Bay of Bengal.

The CWPRS was approached to suggest a permanent remedy for the problem and it came out with the geo-tubes technology which was being successfully used in foreign countries for shoreline protection and creation of breakwaters. On the Kakinada Special Economic Zone, the Union Minister said that efforts would be made to ensure that the purpose for which lands were acquired (in Thondangi and U. Kotthapalli mandals) was served and the SEZ itself does not become a butt of ridicule. The district administration was advised to take the necessary care to prevent irregularities in the allotment of land, he added.

Training school

Mr. Pallam Raju said that the Indian Navy attached great significance to the east coast as it was a crucial sea lane linked to the Malacca straits through which a bulk of the global cargo was transported. The Navy had acquired land for setting up an amphibious warfare training school at Kakinada and efforts were being made to give it a tangible shape at the earliest.

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