Kozhikode beach loses over 80 metres to sea

Kozhikode: The sea has taken away some 80 metres of Kozhikode beach  in the last 10 years. It is one of the most affected areas  of sea  erosion along with Ambalappuzha in Alappuzha. 

Experts blame humans  for this phenomenon.  Rivers are the main source of sand  being deposited in the sea,  and according to studies,  little or no sand is now being deposited  in the sea due to sand mining,  which is a major factor for the loss of coastal sand dunes.

“Sea undercurrents deposit and re-deposit sand in the coastal areas. River sand that reaches the sea is what is deposited on the coast. Now there is no river sand deposit happening and hence the sea cannot replace the sand taken away by the waves,” Mr K.P. Abdullah, senior engineer with the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), who specialises in coastal erosion, told DC.

He said  human interventions that disturb the ecological balance of the sea should also  be blamed. “In developed countries, they have a line that marks the area for the coastal belt.

They do not allow any structure to come up here. In Kerala,  encroachments are common. When we take away the land belonging to the sea, it tries to regain what it had lost,” he  said.

Even the Coastal Regulatory Zone notification has not been of much use  in Kerala. “The issue cannot be treated locally and we cannot have localized solutions to this issue. However, in Kerala we try to address the issue of coastal erosion locally. What we generally refer to as coastal erosion here is only a seasonal change. We cannot complain about sea fury when we construct something in an area that belongs to the sea,” he added.

The effects of global warming have not been evident in Kerala so far as there was no sea level rise noted. “Sea bridges, sea walls and other localized solutions that we find to take care of sea fury disturb the ecological balance of the sea and the sea reacts in its own way,” he added.