Batpady end-point disconnected from mainland after monsoon

A few more groyens, if they had been constructed between Uchchila and Batpady, could have prevented sea erosion

Undoubtedly, it was one of the most scenic beaches of the State gifted with backwaters on the one side and the Arabian Sea on the other with large sand dunes preventing the backwaters from rivulets joining the sea.

However, the Batpady Beach on the southern tip of the State’s coast bordering Kerala in Dakshina Kannada has been striped off its abundant beauty due to sea erosion in the last two-three years. And, sea erosion has been due to human intervention with unplanned construction and failure to address the core issue while executing the restoration work, according to local residents and a few experts.

While about a 3-km stretch of the Fisheries Road from Someshwara to Batpady via Uchchila had about 500 m land on the sea front about six years ago, sea erosion swallowed it metres by metres every monsoon.

It was during the 2019 monsoon that the sea reached the Fisheries Road on about a 750-m stretch between Uchchila and Batpady. The road stretch got completely eroded in the subsequent years while the Batpady end-point too was washed away this monsoon.

More than 10 houses on the sea-front have been washed away due to sea erosion in the last three years between Uchchila and Batpady. With the road stretch getting eroded, another about 15 houses and about 10 guesthouses on the stretch have lost connectivity. Residents have to walk through private property to reach their houses, regretted Abdul Hameed, a local.

And, these residents are already worried about the situation that they may face during the next monsoon fearing that the raging waves could snatch their houses too.

Ports and Inland Water Transport Department executed the Someshwara Shoreline Protection Project at a cost of about ₹150 crore funded by the Asian Development Bank starting 2020.